Jordan is a small, middle-income, open
economy, with a limited natural resources base and active
trade flows. As the integration of Jordan in the World
Economy progresses, enhancing Jordan's environmental
management can not only improve the wellbeing of Jordanians,
but also enable the country to better compete in
increasingly environmentally conscious markets. To date
there has not yet been a comprehensive assessment of

How global emissions reduction targets
can be achieved equitably is a key issue in climate change
discussions. This paper presents an analytical framework to
encompass contributions to the literature on equity in
climate change, and highlights the consequences -- in terms
of future emissions allocations -- of different approaches
to equity. Progressive cuts relative to historic levels --
for example, 80 percent by industrial countries and 20

Two-thirds of Bangladesh is less than 5
meters above sea level, making it one of the most flood
prone countries in the world. Severe flooding during a
monsoon causes significant damage to crops and property,
with severe adverse impacts on rural livelihoods. Future
climate change seems likely to increase the destructive
power of monsoon floods. This paper examines the potential
cost of offsetting increased flooding risk from climate

How should Tajikistan adapt to ongoing
and future climate change, in particular given the many
pressing development challenges it currently faces? The
paper argues that for developing countries like Tajikistan,
faster economic and social development is the best possible
defense against climate change. It presents some key
findings from a recent nationally representative household
survey to illustrate the strong public support for more

This issue of environment matters
celebrates the 2010 international year of biodiversity and
describes some of the challenges and opportunities in
protecting biodiversity for the benefit of humankind. From
the world's highest mountain ranges to the lowland
plains, and from the great oceans and coastal wetlands to
agricultural landscapes, nations and communities rely on the
bounty and services of natural ecosystems. Biological

The objectives of this Country
Environmental Analysis (CEA) were to assess the
environmental quality in the Philippines with a focus on how
this affects human welfare and sustainability, measure and
analyze the biophysical significance and monetary cost of
environmental degradation and derive priority areas of
action, assess the Philippines government's capacity to
manage the environmental challenges identified, and identify

This paper assesses the impact of water
supply variability on treaty cooperation between
international bilateral river basin riparian states. Climate
change is anticipated to change the variability of water
supply, as well as its expected magnitude. Previous studies
have focused mainly on water scarcity, measured in terms of
mean precipitation or per capita water availability in the
country, as a trigger for conflict or cooperation. The water

This study reviews regulatory
instruments designed to reduce environmental externalities
from the transport sector. The study finds that the main
regulatory instruments used in practice are fuel economy
standards, vehicle emission standards, and fuel quality
standards. Although industrialized countries have introduced
all three standards with strong enforcement mechanisms, most
developing countries have yet to introduce fuel economy

An increase in sea surface temperature
is evident at all latitudes and in all oceans. The current
understanding is that ocean warming plays a major role in
intensified cyclone activity and heightened storm surges.
The vulnerability of coastlines to intensified storm surges
can be ascertained by overlaying Geographic Information
System information with data on land, population density,
agriculture, urban extent, major cities, wetlands, and gross

Most economic analyses of climate change
have focused on the aggregate impact on countries of
mitigation actions. The authors depart first in
disaggregating the impact by sector, focusing particularly
on manufacturing output and exports because of the potential
growth consequences. Second, they decompose the impact of an
agreement on emissions reductions into three components: the
change in the price of carbon due to each country s emission

The reality of climate change associated
with anthropogenic emissions is now widely acknowledged by
the scientific community. Its potential devastating future
harms are equally well perceived and as stated in the
Copenhagen Accord major nations agree on the need to jointly
and urgently combat climate change. The international
community is also quite aware that stabilizing atmospheric
concentrations of green-house gases (GHG) at supportable

Bangladesh is one of the world's
poorest countries. Nearly 80 percent of the nation's
140 million people reside in rural areas; of these, 20
percent live in extreme poverty. Geographically, many
low-lying areas are vulnerable to severe flooding, while
other regions are prone to drought, erosion, and soil
salinity. Such an unfavorable agricultural landscape,
combined with mismanagement of natural resources and