The Asia-Pacific region must accelerate progress everywhere and urgently reverse its regressing trends on many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve its ambitions by 2030, says a report released by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

The COVID-19 crisis has amplified the urgency of addressing together the dual challenges of inequality and environmental degradation.

COVID-19 has led to a global crisis threatening the lives and livelihoods of the most vulnerable by increasing poverty, exacerbating inequalities, and damaging long-term economic growth prospects. The report, Are We Building Back Better?

Average levels of various pollutants, including PM10, PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide, in Delhi last year were the lowest since 2014, according to the Delhi Economic Survey report. Government data also showed that average levels of the major pollutants in the city have been decreasing steadily over the years.

Global materials use is expected to grow in the coming decades in the absence of new policies, bearing substantial negative impacts for the environment. This report analyses the mechanisms through which resource efficiency and circular economy policies can achieve a decoupling between economic growth and material use.

Impunity still reigns when it comes to the murders of human rights defenders around the world, according to the Front Line Defenders organization, in its global analysis of 2020. The analysis examined 331 homicides of leaders who fight for the defense of the land, the environment, Indigenous peoples, women and the LGBTIQ community.

An ADB contribution to this report highlights the potential of using innovative data such as satellite imagery and computer vision techniques to help improve the targeting of interventions to reduce poverty.