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In 2012, the World Bank signed five agreements with MRDPA for advisory services, out of which one relates to the growth poles policy and to its improvement for the programming period 2014-2020. This agreement has three components: 1) an analysis of the growth poles policy, 2) energy efficiency studies for each growth pole; and 3) a review of the Integrated Development Plans prepared by the growth poles for the period 2007-2013. In this context, South Muntenia Regional Development Agency, through the coordinator of Ploiești Growth Pole, requested the World Bank, under a project funded by ERDF through the Technical Assistance Operational Program 2007-2013, to support the Growth Pole in implementing the recommendations stemming from the previous analysis with: 1) updating the Integrated Development Plan for 2014-2020; and 2) proposing an improved institutional framework for coordinating the planning, implementation and monitoring of projects under this plan. The current document of the Integrated Development Plan belonging to Ploiești Growth Pole was developed during the period 2008-2009 and approved and submitted to South Muntenia RDA in April 2010. It contains a total number of 93 projects with a total value of RON 5,136,143,583.91, out of which 762,515,322.81 are EU funds, and the remainder comes from the national budget and the beneficiaries’ own contribution. In the process of updating the plan, the implementation status of these projects will be studied further, while attention will be also given to the unimplemented projects in order to see whether they will be included in the documentation, depending on their response to the new development conditions of the growth pole.

The Greenprint 2030 is a resolute attempt on the part of MMDA to engage all stakeholders in a process to create a common vision for the region’s future. For the first time, all 16 cities and one municipality comprising Metro Manila are linked under one vision that sets developmental priorities for the region and provides direction to achieve those priorities. The vision is formulated within the wider Mega Manila context, considering the shared challenges and opportunities with adjacent provinces. Like other metropolitan plans, Greenprint 2030 starts with a vision. However, it differs from the comprehensive metropolitan planning exercises in that it focuses on developing strategic areas of opportunity. Through the vision process, connectivity, inclusiveness, and resilience emerged as the key entry points for strategic engagement. Based on the vision the Greenprint 2030 will provide metropolitan wide spatial guidance, demonstrate coordination mechanisms, and identify areas for catalytic investments. The green in Greenprint goes beyond trees and open spaces green is efficient transportation, affordable housing, and more resilient infrastructure. It emphasizes sustainable urban development as the underlying principle across the three themes of inclusivity, connectivity, and resiliency. These sectors work together to enable more efficient use of resources and to create a livable urban environment. The Greenprint 2030 offers the strategic direction which informs comprehensive spatial and development plans prepared by national and local government agencies, related to Metro and Mega Manila. Through this process, more options for metropolitan governance will also be examined. The aim is to equip the metropolitan area to compete globally and to provide its citizens a safe, resilient, and green environment.

The nexus of improved energy access, direct health benefits and reduced indoor air pollution can be achieved in part through expanding access to clean cookstoves and fuels. This is of particular significance to approximately three billion people, mainly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, who still rely on solid fuels (traditional biomass and coal) for cooking and heating. Large-scale adoption and sustained use of clean cookstoves is not materializing due to a variety of context specific barriers both on the consumer and producer/distributor sides. While financing in terms of a lack of investment and working capital appear to be constraints for producers, lack of information, awareness, and cultural barriers dominate for consumers and should not be underestimated. Addressing these challenges requires a multi-pronged approach across four key drivers that have been identified through reviewing successful programs: awareness raising; markets and preferences; technologies and standards; and innovative financing.

Congo Basin countries rely more on wood-based biomass to meet their energy needs than most other countries in the world. Wood fuel production is increasing in Congo Basin countries. Urbanization often produces a shift from fuel wood to charcoal consumption, because charcoal is cheaper and easier to transport and store. Charcoal is produced mostly using traditional techniques, with low transformation efficiencies. Under a business as usual scenario, charcoal supply can represent the single biggest threat to Congo Basin forests in the coming decades. This report aims at providing some thinking on how Congo Basin could meet their energy needs in a forest-friendly manner. It is one of a series of outputs prepared during a two-year exercise to analyze and better understand the deforestation dynamics in the Basin. It presents the main findings related to the wood fuel sector in the Congo Basin and its potential impact on forest cover. It is based on an in-depth analysis of the sector (past trends and future prospects). It also builds on results derived from a modeling exercise conducted by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) that examined the national and regional trends in in wood-based biomass energy use and the impacts on Congo Basin forests. The report is structured as follows: chapter one gives an overview of the wood fuel sector in the six Congo Basin countries, including an analysis of its impact so far on forest cover; chapter two presents the prospects of energy needs and production in the near future, and the potential impacts on forest under a business as usual scenario; and chapter three identifies potential key levers in the wood fuel sector that could limit adverse impacts on forest cover.

In Africa, urban outdoor air pollution is responsible for an estimated 49,000 premature deaths annually with indoor use of solid fuels being responsible for eight times this value, the main burden being borne by Sub Saharan African countries. Air pollution, outdoor and indoor, affects the health and life chances of millions of people in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA)every day. There is a link between air pollution and poverty since poor people are exposed to higher concentrations of air pollutants and tend to suffer disproportionately from the effects of deteriorating air quality (AQ). Children in cities exposed to high concentrations of air pollutants will more often develop respiratory ailments which prevent them from developing and learning well. As a consequence they will suffer in adult life from low levels of qualifications and skills. The implication of poorly educated children is not only a reduction of quality of their lives but also an obstacle for the economic development of a country as a whole. Rapid urbanization means increase in motorization and economic activity which in turn leads to increased air pollution if countermeasures are not taken. In view these linkages addressing urban AQ in SSA is particularly important. Air pollution in Sub Saharan cities appears to be on the rise with respect to many key pollutants. In some cities where monitoring has been performed levels of air pollution exceed World Health Organization recommended guidelines. The main cause of urban air pollution is the use of fossil fuels in transport, power generation, industry and domestic sectors. In addition, the burning of firewood, agricultural and animal waste also contributes to pollution levels. Pollutant emissions have direct and indirect effects with a wide range of impacts on human health, ecosystems, agriculture and materials. There is a growing need to determine the state of urban AQ and the challenges posed to solve it and identify the most effective measures to protect human health and the environment. Learning from experience and successes in urban AQ management (AQM) from other countries can assists in the formulation and implementation of strategies to achieve better AQ in Sub Saharan Africa. This report compiles the information provided by the 25countries in a harmonized way and gives an in-depth review of AQ in SSA with AQ profile of each country, presenting the country's main current urban AQ issues, emissions standards, ongoing projects, lessons learned from good/bad practices. It was attempted to compile this information also for additional SSA countries from available publications and internet sources.

This internal background paper has been prepared to help inform the 2010 environment strategy with respect to a proposed way forward on use of country systems. The World Bank Group environment strategy is built on three pillars: leveraging natural resources for growth and poverty reduction; managing the environmental risks to growth and development; and transforming growth paths. As part of its exploration of these three pillars, the strategy considers the question of environmental co-benefits of climate change actions. In particular, it poses the question of potential trade-offs between actions to address climate change and other local and regional environmental priorities, and considers how to maximize co-benefits arising from climate action. The primary objective of this background paper is to assess the potential for climate change mitigation and adaptation actions to provide environmental co-benefits, particularly in the quality of environmental media, flow of ecosystem services, and maintenance of biodiversity. To accomplish this, the paper is organized in five sections: section one gives provision of an organizing framework to identify and classify potential co-benefits; section two gives summary of the external literature on co-benefits; section three gives review of examples from the World Bank portfolio; section four presents initial thoughts on creation of enabling conditions for co-benefit provision; and section five gives review of implications for the environment strategy.

This Country Environmental Analysis (CEA) has been developed by the World Bank in cooperation with the Government of Jordan. It aims to integrate environment into development and poverty reduction priorities. The CEA will be a vital instrument for designing Jordans future policies, by integrating the economic policy tools in our decision making processes. As the latest economic crises and its implications have shown, an economic model that is based on consumption alone cannot be sustained; accordingly many countries identified the need to green their economics as the base for sustainable growth and development. Jordans green economic initiative will enhance social integration, economic growth an environmental sustainability within one focused, measured and stable economic plan. Jordan is a small country that is rich in human capital; the green journey will be a twenty years program to retrofit our infrastructure, to become energy, water and resource efficient. The recommendations identified in this document will be the main drivers for the environmental policies in the country. The issue of adequate incentives for better quantity management clearly remains important, but is not addressed in this report. After the national agenda was established, it appears that the reduction of water related subsidies and the creation of incentives for allocating water to higher value added uses are being recognized as necessities that public policies will address in the future.

Vietnam's transport sector plays an important role in its socioeconomic development. Passenger transport helps meets daily needs and contributes significantly to tourist service development while freight transport helps meet the country's demand for delivery of raw materials and of semi-finished products to production facilities and for transport of finished products to consumers. With the overall growth in transport in the country, each of the main forms of transport (road, railway, aviation, inland waterways and maritime) are currently increasing the total fuel use for transport and as a result overall greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to the mix of transport modes used, the major factors affecting the impact of this growth on current and future greenhouse gases from each mode of transport are the quality and quantity of the vehicles and supporting infrastructure and the type of fuels used and their efficiency. The following sections evaluate the infrastructure and fuel use of each of the modes of transport (sections 1.1-1.5), the current and projected greenhouse gas emissions from the sector and the reasons for this (section 2), and typologies of interventions that can reduce the emissions from the sector (section 3).