The Asia-Pacific region has adopted highly resource-intensive development pathways, and its impacts, including the harmful effects of climate change and environmental degradation, as well as unsustainable consumption and production are felt keenly across the region. Overcoming these environmental challenges requires deep sustainability transitions towards green, inclusive and resilient development, grounded on regional collaboration and solidarity, and based on effective international environmental governance and multilateral processes. Policymaking processes must be upgraded to better manage complexity, and address interlinkage across sectors, strengthen spaces for multistakeholder participation, and applying new skills and methodologies, such as foresight, behavioral sciences and systems thinking.
Sustainability challenges are inherently complex. Risks from climate change and environmental degradation are increasingly converging with socio-economic threats and vulnerabilities in Asia and the Pacific.
Sustainability transitions need to be governed. There is an urgent need for governments to strengthen environmental governance, including promoting cross-sectoral collaboration, deep learning in institutions, engaging stakeholders, and adopting rights-based approach, futures thinking and system analysis in decision making. Furthermore, green growth, or environmentally sustainable economic growth, is an important strategy for balancing environmental and development needs in order to achieve sustainable development in the region.
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Series of SDG Partnership Reports can be accessed here.
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Series of SDG Goal Profiles can be accessed here.
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Series of reports on the Greening of Economic Growth can be accessed here.
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Environmental Governance
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