Solutions to Asia and the Pacific's socioeconomic, political, and environmental and climate change challenges lie not in 5-year plans or ad hoc schemes. They lie in people's visions of futures they can actively shape, first imagining them and working backward to make them happen. This publication shows how ADB piloted futures thinking and foresight to understand entry points to support transformation change in the region. Some of the region's policy makers envisioned their countries a decade or more hence and the steps to reach those desired futures. This is our message: We must use not just knowledge and evidence but also emotions and creativity. We cannot change the past, but everything we do now changes the future.
Multilateral Matters is the quarterly publication of the Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS), analyzing the most recent developments regarding multilateralism by our team. It covers articles on relevant economic and political issues as well as programmed and latest publications from the research center. The objective of the newsletter is to promote the research being done by our centre, raising awareness of the many events that we hold on a regular basis.
Multilateral Matters is the quarterly publication of the Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS), analyzing the most recent developments regarding multilateralism by our team. It covers articles on relevant economic and political issues as well as programmed and latest publications from the research center. The objective of the newsletter is to promote the research being done by our centre, raising awareness of the many events that we hold on a regular basis.
Recent escalations in the severity of extreme weather events in Europe have set the stage for a rethink of international relations as a policy pathway towards dealing with climate change. Such rethinking requires a refocus on the social contract undergirding sovereignty. Global warming attests to that.
An increasing range of scientists, governments, multilateral agencies, large corporations, investment bodies, public interest bodies and advocacy groups have acknowledged the need to limit global warming to no more than 1.5℃ to 2℃ by 2030, and ultimately move to a zero-net-emission economy. To do so, substantial changes will be needed which can have an impact on all firms in Southeast Asia. This transformation will affect many different aspects of how companies operate, including production processes, finance, management, supply chains, transportation, energy consumption, stakeholder relationships, marketing and human resources. Ultimate responsibility for this activity will rest with the boards of corporations, as they – and the individual directors who constitute them – are accountable in law for the oversight and control of the business entities they direct. These governance changes are already well underway in many other parts of the world, but have been markedly slow in Southeast Asia to date.
An increasing range of scientists, governments, multilateral agencies, large corporations, investment bodies, public interest bodies and advocacy groups have acknowledged the need to limit global warming to no more than 1.5℃ to 2℃ by 2030, and ultimately move to a zero-net-emission economy. To do so, substantial changes will be needed which can have an impact on all firms in Southeast Asia. This transformation will affect many different aspects of how companies operate, including production processes, finance, management, supply chains, transportation, energy consumption, stakeholder relationships, marketing and human resources. Ultimate responsibility for this activity will rest with the boards of corporations, as they – and the individual directors who constitute them – are accountable in law for the oversight and control of the business entities they direct. These governance changes are already well underway in many other parts of the world, but have been markedly slow in Southeast Asia to date.
Rural communities in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) are vulnerable to climate-related disasters. In 2008, tropical cyclone Nargis killed 84,500 people and impacted the livelihood of 2.4 million people. In 2011, large-scale floods in Thailand affected 14 million people and caused $45.7 billion in damages. This report presents findings of a climate risk financing study conducted by the GMS Core Environment Program in 28 rural communities in Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Viet Nam. Learn more about how communities cope with climate-related disasters, how this study contributes to the knowledge base on rural climate risk financing in the GMS, and how it can become the basis for more comprehensive feasibility studies.
In 2010, the Asian Development Bank, the Government of the Cook Islands, and the World Wide Fund for Nature partnered to undertake a pilot adaptation project that could be replicated across the country's inhabited islands. The basic idea was to field-test a participatory approach that incorporates local knowledge and engages vulnerable communities in the formulation of adaptation plans that will be operable and most relevant to their circumstances. This publication captures and shares the process, tools, and lessons from the project. It hopes to provide insights into how climate change adaptation may be strengthened and accelerated through community-based risk assessment and participatory planning.
In 2010, the Asian Development Bank, the Government of the Cook Islands, and the World Wide Fund for Nature partnered to undertake a pilot adaptation project that could be replicated across the country's inhabited islands. The basic idea was to field-test a participatory approach that incorporates local knowledge and engages vulnerable communities in the formulation of adaptation plans that will be operable and most relevant to their circumstances. This publication captures and shares the process, tools, and lessons from the project. It hopes to provide insights into how climate change adaptation may be strengthened and accelerated through community-based risk assessment and participatory planning.
Climate change will increase the frequency of extreme weather events, making more geographic places inhospitable to human habitation and secure livelihoods. This report presents a detailed picture of the potential impacts of climate change on migration in Asia and the Pacific. It draws upon a wealth of research to provide policy makers with informed analysis of an emerging phenomenon requiring urgent attention by governments and the international community. The report also suggests that climate-induced migration should be seen not only as a threat to human well-being but also as a potential tool to promote human adaptation to climate change.
Climate change will increase the frequency of extreme weather events, making more geographic places inhospitable to human habitation and secure livelihoods. This report presents a detailed picture of the potential impacts of climate change on migration in Asia and the Pacific. It draws upon a wealth of research to provide policy makers with informed analysis of an emerging phenomenon requiring urgent attention by governments and the international community. The report also suggests that climate-induced migration should be seen not only as a threat to human well-being but also as a potential tool to promote human adaptation to climate change.
I argue that our discipline is caught in a rut of irrelevancy on the grander scale. Much of our research is focussed on refining the basics of what we essentially already know well. While there will always be processes to understand, species to describe, and relationships to measure, our discipline can no longer afford to avoid the biggest sustainability issues, including inter alia increasing agricultural production without further destruction of ecosystem integrity, low-impact energy provision for electricity and fuels, human overpopulation and how to reduce it ethically and fairly, and massive ecosystem restoration at meaningful scales. While we argue about the best ways to conserve species, we are still losing our forests, coral reefs, climate regulation, and food-production efficiency with increasing speed. Most of us become comfortable with what we know, and therefore spend most of our time refining our area of expertise. Instead, more of us should jump out of our comfort zones and learn some physics, engineering, climatology, economics, and political science to expand our limited world view. This means that we must do more than just 'engage with stakeholders' post-publication; instead, we need to generate and test hypotheses that explicitly attempt to solve complex problems that transcend mere biological processes. Multidisciplinary teams can assist, but more relevant progress will require biologists themselves to adopt data, approaches, and communication strategies from other fields (many of them not residing within the sciences). Including policy implementers from the outset will potentially increase the probability of uptake in government and industry provided we examine the questions they deem most pertinent. This approach will probably require compromises, but tangible changes in policy arising from dedicated research will be more easily measured and demonstrated following this approach. With a little more effort, I think conservation biologists would be far more relevant and successful in turning some of the threatening unsustainability tide back towards more acceptable outcomes. ; peerReviewed
This publication showcases 100 projects and programs of the Asian Development Bank, development partners, governments, and the private sector to support cities across Asia and the Pacific in addressing the challenges of climate change. The climate actions were drawn from multiple sectors—renewable energy, carbon finance, transport, land use, information and communication technology, climate action plans, building energy efficiency, solid waste management, sustainable and low-carbon communities, and climate resilience. The stories featured demonstrate how city-level initiatives contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building resilience, all while delivering economic, environmental, health, and social co-benefits.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a major global crisis requiring national, regional, and global intervention. The scale of the crisis and the associated size of the response mean that decisions governments make now will influence systems, create assets, and define development directions well into the future. The Asian Development Bank has developed this technical note to help its developing member countries accelerate climate and disaster resilience and low-carbon development through the design of COVID-19 recovery interventions. It proposes an assessment framework that decision-makers can use to select and prioritize a package of recovery interventions that will collectively achieve recovery, climate, and resilience objectives.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement enables countries to utilize market and nonmarket approaches to achieve their nationally determined contributions. Yet, international negotiations on Article 6 are complex and ongoing. The Parties of the Paris Agreement have made progress on many issues, but contentious matters on political and technical aspects remain unresolved. This publication presents the latest developments in negotiations, discusses the key outcomes, and highlights the remaining unresolved issues leading up to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Glasgow.
