The World Bank released its annual book compiling environmental data, which includes information from more than 200 countries relating to agriculture, forests, energy, water, sanitation, and ocean health. The 2012 Little Green Data Book functions as a compilation of information allowing countries to value and organize their natural capital. The datasets include an Adjusted Net Savings indicator, which calculates savings considering factors such as natural resource depletion and pollution damage.

The purpose of this report is to improve the knowledge base for facilitating investments in land management technologies that sequester soil organic carbon. While there are many studies on soil carbon sequestration, there is no single unifying volume that synthesizes knowledge on the impact of different land management practices on soil carbon sequestration rates across the world. A meta-analysis was carried out to provide soil carbon sequestration rates in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development makes the case that greening growth is necessary, efficient, and affordable. Yet spurring growth without ensuring equity will thwart efforts to reduce poverty and improve access to health, education, and infrastructure services. Countries must make strategic investments and farsighted policy changes that acknowledge natural resource constraints and enable the world’s poorest and most vulnerable to benefit from efficient, clean, and resilient growth.

Nepal has a very high rate of child malnutrition: half (49%) of children under five are stunted and one third (39%) are underweight. Maternal undernutrition is also a significant problem in Nepal: One in four (24%) women of reproductive age has chronic energy deficiency (Body Mass Index

Sustainable Low-Carbon City Development in China, summarizes the lessons of the World Bank’s activities related to sustainable urban development in China. The report presents overall policy recommendations in low-carbon city development and highlights specific experiences across key sectors, including energy, transport, solid waste, and water. The report also explores cities’ role in climate adaptation and opportunities presented by carbon finance and other global mechanisms to finance low-carbon city development.

The air transport sector is enjoying an optimistic growth rate while at the same time eliciting growing concern, due to its environmental impact and its vulnerability with respect to energy security. These issues have put the sector at the forefront of the tide in achieving energy efficiency. Efforts have been made on every front to improve efficiency through better technology, optimized operation, as well as energy-saving infrastructure. What is the low-hanging fruit that the air transport sector can reach in terms of energy efficiency?

Eco² Cities: Ecological Cities as Economic Cities is a sustainable urban development initiative launched by the World Bank as an integral part of its Urban and Local Government Strategy. Its objective is to help cities in developing countries achieve greater ecological and economic sustainability in synergy. An integrated approach across sectors appears to overcome many barriers to urban sustainability, and offers communities a path towards increased well-being for short and long terms.

This new World Bank report discusses India’s best improved biomass stove programs and suggests policies and practical ways to promote the use of cleaner burning, energy efficient, and affordable stoves. It includes case studies from six Indian states—Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal—and other stove programs around the globe.

World Development Indicators 2012 is a compilation of relevant, high-quality, and internationally comparable statistics about development and the quality of people’s lives. Organized around six themes—world view, people, the environment, the economy, states and markets, and global links—it aims to put data into the hands of policy makers, development specialists, students, and the public.

This report analysis the brick sector in Bangladesh and assesses the feasibility of cleaner alternative technologies. Chapter 1 introduces the rationale and study objectives. An overview of the challenges and opportunities of the brick sector is presented in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 describes the main brick technologies currently in use in Bangladesh, while Chapter 4 portrays the main characteristics of cleaner alternative technologies. Chapter 5 estimates in monetary terms the private and social profitability of the selected technologies.