Human development is about putting people at the center of development. It is about people realizing their potential, increasing choice and enjoying the freedom to lead the lives they value. Created in 1990, the "Human Development Report" has explored themes including gender equity, democracy, human rights, globalization, cultural liberty and water scarcity. The past years have witnessed the emergence of a growing consensus on climate change. Governments across the world have seen the warning signs. The science linking global warming to human activity is unequivocal. The economic case for action is compelling: the costs of inaction will heavily outweigh the costs of action. Yet the politics lags behind the science and the economics. Collectively, the world's governments are failing to act with the urgency demanded by the scale of the threat.
The window of opportunity for avoiding dangerous climate change is closing fast. This year's "Human Development Report" explains why we have less than a decade to change course and start living within our global carbon budget. It explains how climate change will create long-run low human development traps, pushing vulnerable people into a downward spiral of deprivation. Because climate change is a global problem with global causes and effects, it demands a global response with countries acting on the basis of their historic responsibility and capabilities.

El Informe sobre Desarrollo Humano 2020 (que celebra su 30º aniversario) constituye la última edición de la serie de Informes sobre Desarrollo Humano publicados a escala mundial por el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) desde 1990. Estos informes ofrecen una explicación independiente, analítica y basada en datos empíricos sobre los principales problemas, tendencias y políticas en el ámbito del desarrollo. Este informe ofrece una alternativa necesaria y que invita a la reflexión frente a la parálisis ante un alarmante cambio planetario. Su publicación se produce en el momento en que la pandemia de COVID-19 ofrece una visión de lo que pudiera ser una ""nueva normalidad"" al mismo tiempo que abre la oportunidad de que la humanidad cambie de rumbo. El informe también plantea un nuevo Índice de Desarrollo Humano, de carácter experimental, ajustado por las presiones planetarias.

This 2016 Africa Human Development Report on gender equality follows the 2012 Africa Human Development Report, which looked at the importance of assuring food security for all Africans. The two reports share a common objective of addressing what might be considered two unfinished agenda items on Africa's development trajectory. Both have long been recognized as important priorities for the governments and citizens of African countries. This year's report on gender equality reviews the ongoing efforts of African countries to accelerate the pace of assuring women's empowerment through all spheres of society - in the home and community, in health and educational attainment, in the workplace, and in political participation and leadership. While significant progress has been made across numerous fronts in most countries, gender equality for African women and girls is still far from satisfactory. This report adopts a political economy approach to gender equality and women's empowerment in Africa.