The last decade was the warmest on record, and leading organisations on climate change indicate that warmer temperatures are not a potential threat but a surety.

High income inequality can engender a wide range of negative impacts. It can harm child development, increase ill-health and mortality, limit the status of women, generate distrust in government, exacerbate levels of violence and social unrest, slow the pace of poverty reduction and hinder economic growth.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted passenger transport in Asian cities. It is accelerating the growth of private car and motorbike use and diminishing the viability of public transport as the backbone of sustainable urban development across Asia in the long run.

Globally, Indigenous Peoples and local communities have long been custodians of biodiversity. Their customary territories are estimated to contain 36% of the world’s remaining intact forest landscapes and 80% of remaining biodiversity.

This paper examines carbon emissions across the garment sector as counted using the two prominent methodologies for calculating emissions – the life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon accounting in line with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.

Southeast Asia has a strong need to decarbonise its economies and modernise its energy systems. In 2018, around 75% of primary energy demand in the region was met by fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas.

Unsustainable consumption, driven by the increasing extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, and production, is contributing to environmental degradation and the acceleration of climate change. In developing Asia, consumption trends will continue to rise as populations and economies grow.

Vulnerable populations in urban areas globally have been among the worst hit by the global COVID-19 crisis. In South and South-East Asia, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased levels of vulnerability and food insecurity in cities through disruptions to food supply chains, increased food prices and loss of income.

The paper lays out a broad framework to reimagine healthcare systems using the digital technologies as one of the core pillars in the Asia-pacific countries. It argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed serious flaws in the design of traditional healthcare systems in both advanced and developing countries of the Asia Pacific.

It's a pivotal time for energy transitions. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to overshadow global economies, and the pathway to recovery remains uncertain.