The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
Global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) will be under severe pressure this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These vital resources are expected to fall sharply from 2019 levels of $1.5 trillion, dropping well below the trough reached during the global financial crisis and undoing the already …
Our food systems are failing us. This is the overarching message from the wealth of literature on food systems. Analysis by Bene and colleagues finds that this growing body of literature focuses on four main types of failures: food systems’ inability (i) to produce greater quantities of food to feed …
This report provides a high-level framework for any investors looking to shape real-world outcomes in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A focus on shaping SDG outcomes involves broadening the analysis of individual investees’ financially material ESG issues, to also include a parallel analysis of the most important outcomes …
According to this new FAO report the global consumption, per capita of fish has reached 20.5 kilogrammes per year and is projected to rise by one kilo per person, by 2030 . Although sustainability trends for tuna and other major fish stocks are improving, 34.2% of global fish stocks in …
Increasing water scarcity is recognized as a key challenge to sustainable development and major cause of conflict, social unrest and changes to traditional migration routes and new migration patterns. At the same time water is increasingly considered as an instrument for international cooperation to support food production, livelihoods, ecosystems, climate …
The Policy Brief 2020: Advancing SDG7 in Asia and the Pacific was prepared by ESCAP in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank and the custodian agencies for the SDG 7 indicators. The Policy Brief provides the review at the progress achieved to date in the Asia-Pacific region towards global energy …
Engaging the private sector in infrastructure financing through public-private partnership (PPP) can contribute significantly to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, PPP has yet to realize its potential fully in several Asia-Pacific economies. To promote this blended financing modality, a more conducive environment for PPP need …
The 2020 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) provides a data-driven summary of the state of sustainability around the world. Using 32 performance indicators across 11 issue categories, the EPI ranks 180 countries on environmental health and ecosystem vitality. These indicators provide a gauge at a national scale of how close countries …
The key factor that will determine the attainment of Africa’s development objectives is how the continent responds to its increasing need for access to adequate, secure and reliable energy services to industrialize, trade, provide better health and education services, reduce poverty and increase inclusion, boost economic growth and cater for …
Maternity, paternity and parental leave, as well as policies to support breastfeeding in the workplace, are a fundamental part of comprehensive social protection systems and early childhood development strategies. The positive effects of these policies in terms of children’s health, socio-emotional and cognitive outcomes are well established in the literature. …
Despite accelerated progress over the past decade, the world will fall short of ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030 unless efforts are scaled up significantly, reveals the new Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report released on 28 May, 2020 by the International Energy …
The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the need for businesses and investors to adjust to a world of increasing uncertainty or mounting risks. To be viable, businesses can no longer focus only on short-term financial returns; they must anticipate and prepare for future risks, including growing risks from climate change and …
Supreme audit institutions (SAIs) have started to audit the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While there is no one single audit model or approach to audit SDG implementation, audits should incorporate a few core methodological features related to the principles of the 2030 Agenda. Four methodological and practical …
The Philippine planning and budgeting systems are well placed in terms of their capacity to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and could serve as a useful reference for other countries. First, all the SDGs can be mapped into the priorities of the Philippines Development Plan (PDP). …
As this report is published, the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before it hit, the Asia-Pacific region was progressing too slowly on delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Prospects for success will be influenced by the region’s response and recovery strategies. Transformative approaches that will also address the …
The unprecedented socio-economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic calls for unparalleled multi-sectoral responses. ESCAP has developed a framework to support the socio-economic response of Asia and the Pacific to the COVID-19 pandemic.The framework's overarching principle supports building back better through integrated policies aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. ESCAP’s …
Fast-tracking the SDGs: Driving Asia-Pacific transformations is the theme report of the Asia-Pacific SDG partnership for 2020 (With technical updates to country classification) Reflecting on the theme of the7th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development, it informs regional and global dialogue on sustainable development as well as national and regional implementation …
The EEA report ‘Drivers of change of relevance for Europe's environment and sustainability’ provides an in-depth characterisation of developments that range from demographic shifts to leaps in technological innovation and from global competition for natural resources to changes in geopolitical landscape and people’s lifestyles. It also shines light on their …
As the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development enters its fifth year of implementation, it is opportune to ask how governance is understood and implemented around the world. In fact, one can go further to probe the extent to which governments are cognizant of the principles undergirding effective governance. This paper …
The World Health Statistics 2020 summarizes recent trends in life expectancy and reports on progress towards the main health and health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and associated targets. It also assesses the current availability of those data, and describes how WHO is supporting countries to improve health information systems and …
