About this Course

Effectively addressing environmental challenges relating to pollution and sustainable natural resource management under a changing climate are central to sustainable development. Globally, air pollution is estimated to result in 7 million deaths annually. About 80 percent of the wastewater generated globally flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused. Over half the tropical rainforests have been destroyed since the 1960s. Globally, about 24 billion tons of fertile topsoil is lost every year after it takes about 500 years to form an inch of topsoil! The planet has lost 40% of its species (between 1970 and 2000) and a million plant and animal species are near extinction. About 70 percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas and depend on biodiversity for their survival and well-being. An estimated 8 m tons of plastic waste enters the world’s oceans each year. The impact of extreme natural disasters is equivalent to about a US $520 billion loss in annual consumption and forces about 26 m people into poverty annually. Global emissions of CO2 have doubled since 1990, and with each degree temperature increase, grain yields are expected to decline by 5 percent.

Created by: World Bank Group

Level: Introductory