World Bank [to 12 March 2016]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all
[We generally limit coverage to regional and global level initiatives, recognizing that a number of country-level announcements are added each week]

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World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim’s statement on the Fifth Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
Date: March 11, 2016 Type: Press Release

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7 Million More Jobs Each Year in East Asia if Cities Are More Competitive
More competitive cities can help boost growth in the region
SINGAPORE, March 10, 2016—More than 7 million more jobs can be created each year in East Asia if the cities improved their competitiveness…
Date: March 10, 2016 Type: Press Release

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World Bank Group and ISO Partnership Highlights How Countries Benefit from International Standards: Open Trade, Access to Markets and Innovation
WASHINGTON, March 10, 2016—The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the World Bank Group announced today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help increase countries’ awareness and involvement in the development, adoption and use of international standards that promote open, fair and transparent trade.

The MoU serves as the foundation for future cooperation in the areas of knowledge generation and dissemination; encouraging research and promoting awareness; improving monitoring and evaluation; and enhancing capacity around international standards that give countries the opportunity to participate in global trade and that contribute to economic development, social progress and protection of the environment….
Date: March 10, 2016 Type: Press Release

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World Bank and Global Environment Facility (GEF) launch new multi-million dollar ‘Global Platform for Sustainable Cities’
International community invests in the Sustainable Cities of the Future
SINGAPORE, March 9, 2016―City leaders from around the world met in Singapore today for the launch of the ‘Global Platform for Sustainable Cities’, or GPSC, which is part of an initiative funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) that is expected to mobilize up to $1.5 billion over the next five years for urban sustainability programs in 11 developing countries, including Brazil, Cote D’Ivoire, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Senegal, South Africa, and Vietnam.

Coordinated by the World Bank and supported by multilateral development banks, UN organizations, think tanks and various city networks, the GPSC is a knowledge sharing program that will provide access to cutting-edge tools and promote an integrated approach to sustainable urban planning and financing. The GPSC will work with a core group of 23 cities, but will reach many more by sharing of data, experiences, ideas, and solutions to urban challenges, and by linking the knowledge to finance that will influence investment flows toward building cities’ long-term urban sustainability.
Date: March 9, 2016 Type: Press Release

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Emerging Economies Drive Global Trade Volatility in 2015
WASHINGTON, March 9, 2016—After dramatically declining in the first half of 2015, global trade recovered but at a slower pace over the rest of the year, so that world imports grew by only 1.7 percent in 2015 compared to 3 percent in 2014.

According to a new World Bank Group paper, Global Trade Watch: Trade Development in 2015, by World Bank Group Economists Cristina Constantinescu, Aaditya Mattoo and Michele Ruta, global trade in 2015 reflected persistently weak demand and structural changes in world trade, compounded by falling commodity prices and China’s transition to a new growth path.
Date: March 9, 2016 Type: Press Release

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Countries Meet with World Bank to Discuss Carbon Pricing and Build Carbon Markets
ZURICH, March 8, 2016 – Just months after the Paris Agreement at COP21, the World Bank today brought together over 30 developed and developing countries at the Carbon Pricing: Sustaining the Momentum after COP21 conference in Zurich to take stock and discuss opportunities and challenges to use carbon pricing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Date: March 8, 2016 Type: Press Release