Air pollution is a global challenge to people’s health and has severe economic consequences. The region of Northeast Asia is no exception.

As billions of people in the developing world seek to increase their living standards, their aspirations pose a challenge to global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The emerging middle class is buying and operating energy intensive durables ranging from vehicles to air conditioners to computers.

Two years might not be enough to have a full understanding of all that took place due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic since 2020, especially as the pandemic is still not over.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the prospect of increasingly frequent and more intense natural and man-made disasters raise important questions about the resilience of the global economy to such shocks.

This study shows how transformative change can bring about sustainable development, prevent climate change from spiralling out of control and address the unavoidable consequences of climate change in a development-friendly manner.

A growing number of governments have adopted policies aimed at promoting innovation and technological progress for their economies, a trend which has implications for trade flows and the rules that govern global commerce, according to the 2020 edition of the WTO’s World Trade Report.

The paper formulates 10 points for mitigation ambition and includes recommendations on ways to support ambition raising through international cooperation. All governments have committed to the long-term goal of the Paris Agreement.

This paper presents the potential benefits and challenges of enhanced international co-ordination on carbon pricing and outlines the different types and levels of co-ordination that are available for national and sub-national governments.