Artificial intelligence to unlock sustainable development potential in Southeast Asia
Emerging artificial intelligence technology has the potential to accelerate Southeast Asia's lagging progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.
Governance and public sector management
Supporting blue skies through green development loans
Close collaboration, innovative project design, and technical and management capacity building have supported green development and air quality improvement by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Central banks lead the way on green monetary policy
Central banks are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of considering climate change risks, such as physical and transition risks, and some have already launched monetary policy initiatives within the mandate of price stability.
Building public trust for managing the pandemic’s psychological impacts in the Philippines
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the psychological and social well-being of many Filipinos. Stay-at-home orders have left many in isolation and experiencing feelings of fear and anxiety, largely over economic hardship and uncertainty.
The next steps for meeting nationally determined contributions after COP26
Reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG) must be achieved in the coming decades to avoid catastrophic global temperature rises. Limiting global warming to within 1.5°C will require rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented changes in all sectors. GHG emissions in Asia and the Pacific now account for over 50% of the world’s total.
How can the private sector help solve the sanitation challenge?
The private sector can play a vital role in solving the sanitation challenge. The following four aspects highlight the importance of private sector participation in sanitation in developing countries, including in Asia.
Lessons for the informal sector from COVID-19
The informal sector, which employs over 62% of the global population, is a fundamental source of livelihood for over 2 billion people (ILO 2020). Here, “employment” includes self-employment, and the informal sector refers to the part of the economy that is generally not monitored by a tax authority or other forms of government. Before the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the informal sector accounted for 87.7%, 51.5%, and 55.7% of the population in low-, middle-, and high-income countries, respectively (ILO 2018a).
Agriculture and natural resources, Governance and public sector management, Health, Poverty, Social development and protection
Rebooting food systems to achieve the unfinished agenda of global food security
Food insecurity continues to be a pressing issue worldwide, despite scientific innovation and technological advancements in agriculture. Therefore, food security continues to be at the center of the global development agenda. The burgeoning demand for food due to exponential growth in the world’s population and the mismatch between demand and supply due to factors such as climate change, loss of soil fertility, land degradation, water scarcity, food loss and waste, and inefficient distribution systems, have exacerbated the problem of food insecurity.
Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic need more than energy access to promote clean fuels
Air pollution in the cold countries of Central Asia is particularly high during winter due to the consumption of solid fuels for space heating. Evidence-based policy recommendations are needed to facilitate the transition from solid fuel consumption to the use of cleaner fuels for residential heating and cooking, particularly in Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic. This is important not only for improving health conditions for the inhabitants and visitors in these countries but also for reducing the life-threatening health hazards arising from indoor cooking and heating.
Social infrastructure to drive sustainable development in Asia beyond the pandemic
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic discriminates in effect against the poor and the vulnerable, who have weaker immune systems and lack access to treatment and social support due to their economic status. The virus and social-isolation measures have caused a large increase in unemployment for lower-income segments of the population and depressed demand in industries with lower-income workers. It has been estimated that an additional 88 million–115 million people were plunged into extreme poverty in Asia in 2020, a figure that may rise to 150 million by the end of 2021 (Dartanto 2021: 7).