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 …
The South Asian Speakers' Summit on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is attended by South Asian countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The joint declaration of the South Asian Speakers’ Summit on Sunday asserted that the Paris Agreement must continue to be guided by …
A National Strategic Review of Food Security and Nutrition, leading to “Zero Hunger”, was launched in September 2016 to accelerate the pace towards attaining SDG2 by 2030 in Sri Lanka. The Strategic Review was envisaged to make an expansive and inclusive study of the overall food security and nutrition situation …
A new report published by WWF and ISEAL indicates how businesses can contribute strongly to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and unlock new market opportunities by using credible voluntary sustainability standards to transform entire sectors and supply chains. The report, “SDGs mean business: How credible standards can help companies …
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development gives business a significant role to play in efforts to achieve the SDGs, based on its ability to invest and innovate. However, for companies to truly contribute, they must move beyond current forms of engagement, abandon a narrow focus on the SDGs as an …
A subset of Sustainable Development Goals pertains to improving people’s living standards at home. These include the provision of access to electricity, clean cooking energy, improved water and sanitation. We examine historical progress in energy access in relation to other living standards. We assess regional patterns in the pace of …
With millions of people pouring into the region's cities each year, resources are strained and disaster risks are rising. As millions of people pour into East Asia’s cities each year, the region’s governments face the pressing task of easing the enormous strain on resources and infrastructure, and limiting residents’ exposure …
Renewable energy is a fundamental and growing part of the global energy transformation. Increasingly, renewables have become the first choice for expanding, upgrading and modernising power systems around the world. REthinking Energy, the flagship report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), examines trends and developments in the global quest …
Unemployment in India is projected to witness marginal increase between 2017 and 2018, signalling stagnation in job creation in the country, according to a UN labour report. The United Nations International Labour Organisation (ILO) released its 2017 World Employment and Social Outlook report and it finds economic growth trends lagging …
The UN is stepping up efforts to support countries, policymakers, and civil society organizations in tackling climate change through better education, training and public awareness, and has issued new guidelines detailing how this can be done. Empowering societies and all relevant stakeholders is crucial to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions …
This paper examines the challenges and tensions that arise in financing energy infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa, using case studies of Tanzania and Zambia to provide a historical perspective. Energy infrastructure investment is crucial to development and poverty reduction across Africa. Given the scale of finance needed, governments are increasingly looking …
This Issue Brief describes why scaled up action on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is integral for sustainable development. It presents UNDP’s ongoing global and regional work with partners on NCDs, and outlines opportunities for UNDP to help strengthen NCD responses at different levels in the context of supporting countries to mainstream …
This document is for elected gram panchayat representatives and functionaries for use as a ready reference on the SDGs. It illustrates how the SDGs directly relate to the panchayats and how they can be the priority focus as panchayats plan their actions.
This paper outlines PAN Asia Pacific’s concern about the impact of hazardous pesticides on children, and the need for greatly improved global governance of pesticides post 2020, to protect the rights of children and to meet the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030.
Land degradation is occurring rapidly at a time of growing need for fertile soil and healthy ecosystems. Multi-scale solutions that ensure economic and environmental sustainability are needed. Scientific advances have been driven by UNU-INWEH which between 2012 and 2016 has been responsible for the scientific coordination of the global Initiative …
This paper argues that the 2015 UN Development Agenda, which promotes integration among all water and water-using sectors, offers a timely opportunity to view, value, and manage aquatic ecosystems as an integral part of water security planning.
This research paper, commissioned as part of the series ‘Starting Strong: the first 1000 days of the SDGs’, identifies key actions toward addressing the unfinished business of the MDGs and how to reach those who are furthest behind in relation to the new SDGs. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address …
This brief provides illustrative examples of how biodiversity can play an essential role in efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Details on the linkages between biodiversity and each of the SDGs are contained in the “Technical Note on Biodiversity and the …
This brief provides illustrative examples of how biodiversity can play an essential role in efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Details on the linkages between biodiversity and each of the SDGs are contained in the “Technical Note on Biodiversity and the …
This document contains the Proceedings of the African Economic Conference 2015. Jointly organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the African Economic Conference (AEC) 2015 under the following theme: “Addressing Poverty and Inequality in the …
Up to US$906 billion in company turnover depends on commodities that drive the majority of tropical deforestation globally, says environmental non-profit CDP. Global companies—including Colgate Palmolive, L'Oréal, McDonald’s Corporation and Marks & Spencer—report in a new study released that, on average, nearly a quarter (24%) of their revenues depend upon …
