“A global crisis needs a global response.

While the global economy is showing tentative signs of recovery, poor countries are still suffering the consequences of the global recession and the food, fuel and financial crises, which hit over the last
two years.

The poorest countries will need additional assistance to move beyond the global recession.These countries can play a key role in helping to boost global demand to support global recovery, but they
will need access to financing for years to come.

The World Bank is calling for a Crisis Response Facility to ensure that quick and effective assistance can be provided to most vulnerable poor countries following shocks. Such a facility would fill a critical gap in the global aid architecture. Failure to address this need could jeopardize the progress achieved in many poor countries based on recent strong reform efforts, and instead lead to costly reversals.

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In the midst of the most severe global financial crisis in decades, the World Bank today urged the international community to look to Latin America for innovative solutions to avert a climate crisis. The region is in a position to lead middle income countries in reducing emissions from deforestation, breaking the impasse on hydropower development, improving energy efficiency, and transforming urban transport, a new Word Bank study concludes.

“Such an approach could simultaneously support economic recovery and encourage growth in areas that mitigate the impact of climate change. By promoting a shift towards low carbon economic activities, governments can not only help avoid dangerous climate change impacts but can also make the region more competitive, contributing to a faster recovery from the current economic slowdown,” says Pamela Cox, World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean. .... more