In this biennial report, the fifth within ESCAP’s Financing for Development series, examine the trends, challenges, and opportunities for policymakers, regulators, and private finance (banks, issuers, and investors) in Asia and the Pacific to mobilize and deploy sustainable finance, particularly for climate action.

The 2023 edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) takes the pulse of global innovation trends against the background of an economic environment fraught with uncertainty.

This paper projects the nationwide and state-wise size of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) market under various GDP growth scenarios. The market sizes under these scenarios are expressed in monetary values at the scale of both sub-national units and the Indian economy as a whole.

This report presents the latest analysis of data available on SDG 16 indicators. The data reflects that human rights commitments are not being met, violence is increasing, inequality continues to hinder inclusive decision making and corruption erodes the social contract.

India has significantly expanded the share of workers with regular wages, narrowed caste-based segregation and reduced gender-based disparities in the workforce from the 1980s while challenges remain, said ‘State of Working India 2023’, a report released by Azim Premji University.

The economic outlook for Asia and the Pacific remains upbeat, with the region’s developing economies expected to grow 4.7% in 2023, and 4.8% in 2024, but risks remain elevated.

Ahead of the 2023 SDG Summit and of the 2024 Antigua and Barbuda fourth International Conference on SIDS, the 2023 Sustainable Development Report for SIDS presents for the first time a special edition of the SDG Index to assess where SIDS stand in terms of SDG progress.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – the ability of microbes to resist antimicrobials – remains an alarming global health threat. This is despite the efforts made by OECD and EU/EEA countries to curtail it.

SDG 8 integrates the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. To achieve inclusive and sustainable economic growth for full employment and decent work, an integrated process is needed to drive balanced progress across these three dimensions.

The five United Nations regional commissions have prepared selected country profiles on “SDG Progress and Transformative Pathways” to support discussions among member States, various United Nations entities, and other development partners during the SDG Summit on 18-19 September 2023.