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Jambi : air pollution action plan
Get PDFA recent report of UNEP: “Air Pollution in Asia and the Pacific: Science-based solutions, 2019” indicates that some 2.3 billion people in the region are exposed to levels of air pollution several times the WHO guideline for safe air. If the current condition persists, this may threaten the region’s continued growth, and potentially prompt regression away from the SDG targets.
The Jambi Air Pollution Action Plan is an output of the “Urban Air Pollution Project”, an urban air pollution mitigation program supported by the Korea-ESCAP Cooperation Fund (KECF). The “Urban Air Pollution Project” focuses on reviewing the air pollution situation in the Asia-Pacific region and through the collaborative mechanisms of co-production and co-delivery, developing pathways forward to assist policy makers at the central/local level in providing opportunities for exchange of experience and knowledge, and by enhancing their awareness and capacity.</p
2023 SDG status analysis : Lao PDR
Get PDFThe report was prepared by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lao PDR to prepare a brief report on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country. Substantive inputs from the United Nations (UN) system agencies in Lao PDR and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office were included to provide relevant context and policy recommendations.
Unless otherwise noted, the data is sourced from the official Global SDG database1 hosted by the United Nations. Section 2 provides a trend assessment of the Goals, including an overview of Goal 18. Section 3 analyses the situation in six transition areas and recommends actions to accelerate progress. Finally, Section 4 provides an overview of data availability.List of abbreviations ...................................................................................................................... iii1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 12. SDG Trend Assessment .......................................................................................................... 23. Transition Areas ...................................................................................................................... 53.1 Energy ............................................................................................................................... 53.2 Biodiversity and Nature ................................................................................................... 73.3 Education .......................................................................................................................... 93.4 Social Protection and Jobs ........................................................................................... 123.5 Food Systems................................................................................................................. 163.6 Digital Public Infrastructure .......................................................................................... 184. Data and Statistics ................................................................................................................ 20</p
Smart cities in South East Asia : a landscape review
No full textSmart city policy goals are becoming mainstream in South East Asia but lack a supply of innovative smart city business models, products and services. ESCAP is joining the movement to support the acceleration of smart innovative solutions for cities through its Smart Cities Innovation Lab project.
The project builds on the flagship Future of Asia Pacific Cities Report – Smart Cities Pillar and seeks to support the smart cities innovation ecosystem in the region, bringing together cities, entrepreneurs, large companies, and development actors to collaborate on the implementation of their smart cities action plans.
The objectives of this Landscape Review are to understand the current context of smart city development within South East Asia and to provide a common basis of understanding for the deployment of Smart Cities Innovation Labs in the region. This Landscape Review was completed through secondary research comprising of a desk top review of publicly accessible literature. </p
Taking stock of the digital trade and investment policies in the Asia-Pacific Region with ESCAP's Regional Digital Trade Integration Index
No full textThe trade and investment flows of Asia-Pacific economies have recovered in the past two years, a time when the region also experienced a wave of digital transformation. This report starts from the notion that good policies are essential for supporting continued digitization and growth of digital trade in the region. The report analyses the current digital trade and investment policy environment in the Asia-Pacific region, and it identifies ways to promote trade through enhanced regulatory cooperation on digital policy issues among Asia-Pacific economies and with extra-regional partners. The report pays particular attention to policies conducive to the regional digital economy, participation of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in cross-border e-commerce, and inclusive and sustainable development – policies that will ultimately promote the attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the region.
The report leverages two new important data products produced by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to analyse the region’s digital economy and digital policy frameworks: (a) the Digital and Sustainable Regional Integration Index (DigiSRII) that gauges the state of the regional digital economy; and (b) ESCAP’s Regional Digital Trade Integration Index (RDTII) that assesses the regional policy environment for digital trade and investment. The report also uses the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ‘s (OECD) Digital Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) to analyse the restrictiveness of policies and regulations that shape the region’s digital development as well as data developed with the support of the United States Agency for International Development on policies conducive to MSME e-commerce.Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC
Messages of the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development 2023 : towards an accelerated recovery from multiple crises
No full textFrom February to April 2023, the United Nations regional commissions organized the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development (RFSDs), promoting dialogue among member States and multiple stakeholders on ways to accelerate the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels. </p
What characterises a good green or sustainable finance taxonomy?
Get PDFGreen and sustainable finance embodies a paradigm shift away from business as usual, and seeks to mobilise capital to simultaneously promote economic growth, environmental conservation and sustainable development. As such, it facilitates sustainable development and finances activities that have environmental benefits and are in line with the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
As the importance of green and sustainable finance grows considerably, market participants are increasingly seeking clear, consistent, comparable and reliable information about the green claims of different activities and instruments. This information is crucial to identifying activities and projects that are eligible for financing and comply with green and sustainable finance policies and regulations of the government. Developing green taxonomies can help reduce uncertainty for different stakeholders by providing a common language and framework for identifying and classifying environmentally sustainable activities and assets. This makes it easier for various actors, including central banks, governments and the private sector, to understand, regulate and finance green and sustainable activities. Green and sustainable taxonomies serve as instruments to guide capital allocation toward environmentally friendly and sustainable activities that align with broader environmental and sustainability objectives. They function as classification systems, identifying and categorising activities and investments as either “green” or “sustainable” contingent upon their alignment with specific environmental and sustainability goals and targets. The scope of the taxonomies can encompass diverse purposes, such as climate mitigation, adaptation, water management, circular economy practices, pollution control, and biodiversity conservation.
This policy brief examines green and sustainable taxonomies and offers a concise set of recommendations on how to strengthen such taxonomies for policymakers and regulators. Its objective is to highlight fundamental principles and best practices, including a case study of Indonesia’s green taxonomy, and examine key features that characterise a good quality green or sustainable finance taxonomy. It also scrutinises the crucial design considerations for constructing a good quality green or sustainable finance taxonomy. These include clearly outlining objectives, defining users and scope, choosing the correct eligibility methodology and balancing the question of interoperability. The policy brief concludes by summarising potential pathways and recommendations. </p
Asia-Pacific trade and investment trends brief 2022/2023 : South and South-West Asia
No full textThis brief covers recent trends and developments in trade and investment. It has been produced as an accompaniment to the Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Trends 2022/2023.</p
Evaluation of the project on Supporting Countries in Asia-Pacific to Meet Commitments to the Paris Agreement
Get PDFCommissioned by Environment and Development Division,
ESCAPThe project was developed to strengthen the capacity of the ESCAP Member States to accelerate the implementation of their National Determined Contributions (NDCs) and reach targets of the Paris Agreement. The project intended to achieve its objective by reaching one outcome: National policymakers develop plans to operationalize (including if necessary, updating and revisiting) their NDCs to accelerate the implementation of commitments to the Paris Agreement. To attain this outcome, the project implemented a total of three outputs: raising awareness of policy-makers (i), developing methodologies and toolboxes for them to accelerate the implementation of their NDCs (ii), and building capacity for the application of these tools in practice. The project targeted 23 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.Russian Federation’s government, UN Environment Program (UNEP), UN Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC), UN WomenTable of contents..................................................................................................................................... i
Acknowledgments................................................................................................................................... ii
List of acronyms..................................................................................................................................... iii
Executive summary................................................................................................................................ iv
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................1
Description of the Project...............................................................................................................2
2.1 Background ...............................................................................................................................2
2.2 Project theory of change ..........................................................................................................3
2.3 Project strategies......................................................................................................................4
2.4 Innovative elements .................................................................................................................5
2.5 Beneficiaries, target countries, and key partners.....................................................................5
2.6 Resources..................................................................................................................................6
Evaluation objectives, scope, and methodology ............................................................................7
3.1 Purpose and objectives.............................................................................................................7
3.2 Evaluation scope.......................................................................................................................7
3.3 Methodology ............................................................................................................................8
3.4. Evaluation limitation................................................................................................................9
Evaluation findings........................................................................................................................10
4.1 Relevance................................................................................................................................10
4.2 Effectiveness...........................................................................................................................12
4.3 Efficiency.................................................................................................................................16
4.4. Sustainability..........................................................................................................................18
4.5. Human Rights and Gender Mainstreaming ...........................................................................20
Conclusions...................................................................................................................................21
Lessons learned/good practices....................................................................................................22
Recommendations............................................................................................................................24
ANNEXES ...............................................................................................................................................25
Annex 1: Evaluation TORs............................................................................................................25
Annex 2: Project’s theory of change............................................................................................32
Annex 3: Evaluation matrix..........................................................................................................33
Annex 4: Data collection instruments.........................................................................................37
Annex 5: List of individuals interviewed .....................................................................................45
Annex 6: List of documents reviewed .........................................................................................46</p
Practical means of applying the TRIPS agreement’s flexibilities to spur vaccine production : special series on trade and health
No full textTimely and equitable access to vaccines and other health technologies is vital in effectively responding to pandemics and treating other communicable diseases. This paper shows how countries might overcome real or purported intellectual property (IP) barriers to regional COVID-19 vaccine production. In particular, it examines how countries can utilise IP flexibilities to increase and diversify the manufacture and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. It provides concrete examples of how these flexibilities are practised in various domestic jurisdictions in Asia and the Pacific and sets out practical recommendations for different policy areas.</p
Asia-Pacific trade and investment trends brief 2022/2023 : Maldives
No full textThis brief covers recent trends and developments in trade and investment. It has been produced as an accompaniment to the Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Trends 2022/2023.</p