Environment and Climate Change

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is reshaping the global economy, transforming consumption patterns while driving economic growth. The value of the sector rivals that of global trade in goods and services, and keeps expanding. E-commerce platforms help millions of businesses, many of which are small and medium-sized enterprises, sell online, overcoming barriers such as physical market access, infrastructure gaps and social constraints. However, the benefits of e-commerce remain uneven, with most developing countries lagging in the adoption of online shopping. It is also critical to ensure that this global transformation does not compromise environmental sustainability. The environmental impact of e-commerce depends on the type; business-to-consumer e-commerce implies a growing number of smaller packages, deliveries and returns, while business-to-business e-commerce may be more efficient, with bulk orders requiring less packaging and allowing for streamlined delivery. The different stages of the business-to-consumer e-commerce logistics chain for goods (warehousing, packaging, transport, returns) are examined in this policy brief, along with changing consumer behaviour. In addition, the need to rethink these elements is highlighted, to reduce the environmental footprint of e-commerce, while creating a regulatory framework that balances environmental sustainability with economic growth.

Carbon trading under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement presents opportunities and risks for the least developed countries (LDCs). Rather than participating in carbon markets in an ad-hoc fashion, LDCs should build a policy framework that integrates carbon trading into existing development policy and climate policy strategies. The international community can support LDCs through enhanced capacity-building and by strengthening the integrity of carbon markets. This policy brief outlines key benefits, challenges, and policy recommendations for LDCs and development partners to mitigate risks associated with carbon trading under Article 6 and ensure that carbon markets support sustainable development in LDCs.

A set of studies analyses legal and procedural gaps preventing people with disabilities and representatives of ethnic minorities from getting jobs and building careers in the public sector. Key findings: One of the main barriers for Armenian- and Azerbaijani-speaking people in seeking public employment is insufficient knowledge of the Georgian language. In municipalities with a high concentration of ethnic minorities, the representation of women in the civil service is lower than the national average and does not exceed 33 percent. 1+4 internship program is an important mechanism for increasing the engagement of young people from ethnic minority groups in civil service. In the municipalities densely populated by ethnic minorities, there are certain practices for collecting data on civil servants’ ethnicity. However, this data is not consolidated at the national level in the Civil Service Bureau. The methodology used by individual municipalities is inconsistent and, in many cases, does not meet the principles of self-identification and anonymity stipulated in international standards. The employment of people with disabilities in public service is largely hindered by reasons generally considered the main barriers to employment of people with disabilities: competition in the job market and limited resources for people with disabilities, unadapted infrastructure, and stereotypes. Public service is even less accessible to people with disabilities due to high demands - in most cases, higher education is required, which is relatively rare amongpeople with disabilities. Two specific studies examine staffing and recruitment policies in the civil service. One of these researches focuses on women, people with disabilities and representatives of ethnic minorities, while the other analyses the inclusiveness and accessibility of HR.GOV.GE, the main recruitment resource of the civil service. The researches were carried out by the Civil Service Bureau in partnership with local experts and civil society organizations – the PMC Research and the Disability Research Centre (DRC) of Tbilisi State University with assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UK aid from the UK Government.