Economic and Social Development
Safeguarding Sport from Corruption
Focus on the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles
The present report is part of the ongoing work of the UNODC Programme on Safeguarding Sport from Corruption and Economic Crime to strengthen the fight against corruption in sport which is undertaken in cooperation with a range of partners including the International Olympic Committee and is the result of a meeting organized on the margins of the tenth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption held in Atlanta United States of America. Building on an overview of the two events with a focus on their scale and geographic footprint and of the sports-corruption-risk landscape highlighting risks relating to major sports events specific corruption-related threats to the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles are examined in detail while good practices in mitigating risks relating to major sports events are also shared.
Digital Economy Report 2024
Shaping an Environmentally Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Future
The Digital Economy Report 2024 turns the attention to the environmental footprint of digitalization. The Report discusses environmental impacts along the life cycle of digital devices and information and communications technology infrastructure with regard to raw material extraction and processing manufacturing distribution; use and the end-of-life phase. The direct effects on natural resources including transition minerals energy and water as well as greenhouse gas emissions and waste-related pollution can be said to constitute the “environmental footprint” of the ICT sector. There are also indirect environmental effects from the use of digital technologies and services in different sectors of the economy and the Report includes a dedicated chapter on e-commerce. The report underlines the need to maximize the positive impact of digitalization while minimizing the negative impacts on environmental sustainability.
E-commerce and environmental sustainability
While the preceding chapters focused on the three phases of the life cycle of digitalization this chapter discusses a specific application of digital technologies namely e-commerce.
End of the cycle? Digitalization-related waste and the circular economy
This chapter focuses on the last stage of the life cycle of digitalization. It describes global trends in digitalization-related waste highlighting that these can represent challenges and opportunities from an economic and an environmental sustainability perspective.
Digitalization trends and the material footprint
The first phase of the life cycle of digitalization is the production of digital devices and ICT infrastructure. This phase covers the extraction and processing of materials manufacturing and distribution of the digital products accounting for the largest share of digitalization's environmental footprint.
Foreword
The digital economy often praised for its virtual and intangible nature has created the illusion of a world unburdened by material waste. However this Digital Economy Report 2024 starkly reveals the fallacy of this perception. The information and communications technology sector’s carbon footprint in 2020 estimated at between 0.69 and 1.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent emissions accounted for 1.5 to 3.2 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions – at the upper range slightly below the entire shipping industry’s contribution to CO2 emissions. The production of a single 2 kg computer requires the extraction of a staggering 800 kg of raw materials.
Note
Within the UNCTAD Division on Technology and Logistics the E-commerce and Digital Economy Branch carries out policy-oriented analytical work on the development implications of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and electronic commerce (e-commerce). The branch is responsible for the preparation of the Digital Economy Report previously known as the Information Economy Report. The E-commerce and Digital Economy Branch promotes international dialogue on issues related to ICTs for development and contributes to building developing countries’ capacities to measure e-commerce and the digital economy and to design and implement relevant policies and legal frameworks. The branch also manages the eTrade for all initiative.
Towards environmentally sustainable digitalization that works for inclusive development
This chapter turns to the policy challenge of fostering environmentally sustainable digitalization that works for inclusive development. It stresses that policy responses at the national regional and international levels are more likely to prove successful if they reflect the involvement of all stakeholders and address digital socioeconomic and environmental goals holistically across the entire life cycle of digital devices and ICT infrastructure.
Digitalization and environmental sustainability
As the evolving digital economy continues to create both opportunities and challenges for trade and sustainable development the Digital Economy Report 2024 for the first time turns its attention to the environmental implications of digitalization.
Acknowledgements
The Digital Economy Report 2024: Shaping an Environmentally Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Future was prepared under the overall guidance of Shamika N. Sirimanne Director of the UNCTAD Division on Technology and Logistics by a team comprising Torbjörn Fredriksson (team leader) Nadira Bayat Laura Cyron Daniel Ker Smita Lakhe Marcin Skrzypczyk Thomas van Giffen and Wei Zhang.
Preface
Digitalization continues to move at warp speed transforming lives and livelihoods. At the same time unregulated digitalization risks leaving people behind and exacerbating environmental and climate challenges.
Overview
The Digital Economy Report 2024: Shaping an Environmentally Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Future highlights the urgent need for sustainable strategies throughout the life cycle of digitalization. From raw material extraction and usage of digital technologies to waste generation the report explores the nature and scale of the sector’s environmental footprint which remains largely unassessed. What is apparent is that developing countries are suffering disproportionately from digitalization’s negative environmental effects as well as missing out on economic developmental opportunities due to digital divides. UNCTAD calls for global policies involving all stakeholders to enable a more circular digital economy and reduced environmental footprints from digitalization while ensuring inclusive development outcomes.
Environmental impacts in the use phase of digitalization
The growing use of rapidly evolving digital technologies and services around the world accounts for an important part of the environmental footprint of digitalization.
Country Profiles on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management
Albania
The "Country Profiles on Urban Development Housing and Land Management" is an important tool to analyse a country's policies and strategies on urban development housing and land management as well as its institutional and legal frameworks and progress made internationally. The Country Profile of Albania focuses on several key areas such as housing policy the housing sector in general land administration and governance urban and regional development and planning and financing affordable housing. The Country Profile provides recommendations in these areas for the government's consideration.
Land administration and governance
Land administration and governance encompasses a range of governance regulations processes and functions. It plays a crucial role in facilitating and protecting property rights/tenure and transfers regulating land use decisions and planning to promote development social equity conservation and economic growth managing property-related records and information and facilitating property valuation and taxation.
Executive summary
Albania a candidate for accession to the European Union (EU) has been implementing comprehensive reforms in the housing urban development and land management sectors. These reforms aim to meet EU requirements and internationally recognized standards and best practices with a view to improve the quality of life of its citizens.
Urban and regional development and planning
Albania has a relatively high urbanization rate with around 63 per cent of the population living in urban areas in 2021 and 62 per cent in 2020.