Economics & Development

Nigeria faces escalating challenges from climate-induced hazards, particularly floods and droughts, that are increasingly devastating lives, livelihoods, and the national economy. Beyond direct impacts such as loss of life, infrastructure damage, and business disruptions, these events have far-reaching social and economic consequences. Vulnerable and marginalized populations bear the brunt, especially those living in flood-prone informal urban settlements or relying on rainfed agriculture in drought-affected rural areas. The human and developmental toll is significant. Droughts impair nutrition, education, and long-term economic prospects, while floods routinely displace communities, destroy assets, and strain critical infrastructure. These disasters often trigger cascading effects, including food insecurity, forced migration, and resource-based conflicts. Simultaneously, critical ecosystems, such as wetlands and forests that regulate floods and purify water, are being degraded. Climate change is intensifying these risks by increasing the frequency and severity of extreme hydro-climatic events. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and prolonged dry spells are already evident. The 2022 floods, among the worst in Nigeria’s history, impacted over three million people, displaced hundreds of thousands, and damaged farmland and infrastructure across several states, underscoring the urgent need for a proactive and integrated response. To address these growing risks, the World Bank, in partnership with the Government of Nigeria and key stakeholders, supported the implementation of the EPIC Response Framework. This assessment identifies critical gaps in Nigeria’s flood and drought risk management, particularly legal, institutional, and technical areas and offers a roadmap for targeted interventions.

The Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Argentina for FY2026–FY2033 outlines the World Bank Group’s strategy to support the country’s transition from macroeconomic stabilization to sustained, private sector-led growth. Marking a critical turning point, the CPF responds to Argentina’s renewed reform momentum aimed at addressing longstanding structural constraints, restoring macroeconomic stability, and rebuilding investor confidence. Despite its significant economic potential, Argentina has experienced decades of volatility, low growth, and weak private investment. The current reform agenda including fiscal consolidation, deregulation, and measures to attract foreign direct investment has begun to stabilize the economy, reduce inflation, and improve market perceptions. The CPF focuses on consolidating these gains through an integrated, multi-year approach centered on job creation and productivity growth. It is structured around three core pillars: strengthening macro-fiscal stability and governance; enhancing human capital and resilience through improved education, skills, and health systems; and investing in connectivity, infrastructure, and energy to support economic expansion. A fourth cross-cutting objective emphasizes mobilizing private investment, deepening capital markets, and promoting MSME growth. The CPF leverages coordinated support across IBRD, IFC, and MIGA, combining financing, guarantees, and advisory services to crowd in private capital. Overall, it aims to enable inclusive growth, expand employment opportunities, and position Argentina for long-term economic resilience and prosperity.

Ethiopia is one of the Carbon Initiative for Development (Ci-Dev) countries implementing the Standardized Crediting Framework (SCF). The SCF is a tool for testing and operationalizing a national crediting mechanism to access carbon finance and build readiness for participation in carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Ethiopia launched its first official SCF rollout in 2023, enabling a national-scale mitigation program to issue verified emission reductions (ERs). The SCF is a package of tools that can serve countries that intend to develop a national carbon crediting standard to access carbon finance. The rollout process following the SCF is an opportunity to build readiness for host countries’ wider participation in carbon markets, including under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. In Ethiopia, it was financed by Ci-Dev, a carbon fund hosted by the World Bank. The setup of the SCF in Ethiopia served two purposes: In the short-term, it helps generate carbon credits for projects previously registered under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), as they are facing the consequences of the end of the CDM. Additionally, the setup of the SCF delivered practical benefits that will help the country with its long-term carbon market development and Article 6 readiness, including strengthened institutional capacity, improved understanding of carbon crediting processes, and early mobilization of carbon finance