For more than three decades, the impact of aid on the global environment has been the subject of vigorous protest and debate. With billions spent on environmental aid each year, this groundbreaking text seeks to understand why aid is given, how effective it is, and whether aid is actually going to the places with the greatest environmental need.

No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health, Well-being and Quality Education – these are the first priorities of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that were launched jointly by all UN Member States on January 1, 2016. The agenda of this agreement contains 17 main goals with a total of 169 targets and is dedicated to improving global living conditions and to address issues of environmental and economical sustainability with a planning horizon through to 2030. Development assistance from economically advanced countries, also referred to as aid, is one of the major means to provide financing for countries with less developed economies that face severe social problems, and which often cannot handle these problems alone. Previous studies have shown, however, that aid is ineffective and recommend comprehensive restructuring of the common aid practices. Investigations that analyse the pattern of aid flows find, moreover, that granting aid to certain recipient countries cannot only be explained by altruistic motives. They show that several strategic or non-strategic reasons have a high explanatory power for individual donor aid allocation. Against this background, the present study explores aid effectiveness of distinct bilateral donors. This is achieved by a large-scale panel data analysis applying per-capita economic growth, infant mortality and primary growth as indicators for measuring the contribution of aid to achieving the different SDGs.

The authors argue that much of foreign aid's failure is related to the institutions that structure its delivery. They explore the workings of Sida and find that Sida's institutions lead to perverse incentives and poor outcomes in the field. The authors offer concrete suggestions about how to improve aid's effectiveness.

This book presents an overview of the key debates that took place during the Economic and Social Council meetings at the 2007 High-level Segment, at which ECOSOC organized its first biennial Development Cooperation Forum. The discussions also revolved around the theme of the second Annual Ministerial Review, "Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to sustainable development."--P. 4 of cover.

This collection examines the role that foreign aid can play in dealing with the severe global challenge of climate change, one of the most pressing international development issues of the 21st century. Addressing the key threats of rising temperatures, changes in precipitation, coastal erosion and natural disasters, the book considers the implications for policy and future research, particularly in developing countries. Focusing on the worth of foreign aid in ensuring environmental sustainability, this collection consider how it can be used to improve access to sustainable energy, to promote efficient use of energy resources, to improve emission reduction and support the preservation of biodiversity in forests. Advancing our knowledge about foreign aid and climate change, it provides policy recommendations for the donors and recipient country governments. A cutting edge text on one of the most pressing international development issues of this century, this is key reading for all scholars of international development and climate change.