Few challenges pose a greater threat to a healthy planet and people than air pollution and climate change. Over the past three decades, research has demonstrated that integrated solutions to air pollution and climate change can yield co-benefits that support cost-effective, coherent policies. However, research on co-benefits has yet to generate...
For cities to meet the challenge of reaching carbon neutral by 2050, one option is to promote a renovation wave for buildings. A literature review of the initiatives, standards and regulations for energy savings and the renewable energy deployment in buildings in the EU, US and Asia shows the complexity of the effort, and the need to integrate...
The focus of SCP policy has shifted from management of environmental pollution to wider socio-technical change including infrastructure, lifestyles and business models that are sustainable over decades. This paper first examines the expansion of the SCP policy domain through changes in focus of the following two aspects; product lifecycle policy...
The mass accumulation of population in the larger cities of India has led to accelerated and unprecedented peripheral urban expansion over the last few decades. This rapid peripheral growth is characterized by an uncontrolled, low density, fragmented and haphazard patchwork of development popularly known as urban sprawl. The Kolkata Metropolitan...
The ASEAN State of Climate Change Report (ASCCR) provides an overall outlook of the state of play of climate change issues in the ASEAN region. ASCCR is also a forward-looking report, which includes recommendations on making the transition toward 2030 and on to 2050 for both adaptation and mitigation, considering ASEAN’s development context and the...
Intensifying ecological crises, such as climate change, the melting Arctic, and uncontrolled destruction of habitat and biodiversity, are increasingly exposing the shortcomings of resource-intensive development models. One of the concepts helping policymakers steer a course change is sustainable consumption production and consumption (SCP). A...
Source separation plays a pivotal role in sustainable and integrated Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) and in achieving a circular economy in Asia. However, it is still not an official practice, and many cities continue to utilise open dumping, involving receiving mixed waste without pre-treatment. This paper, therefore, examines the...
Japan has raised its climate ambition by declaring its commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and by setting a new target of reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 46% against 2013 levels by 2030. This chapter provides a perspective on how Japan’s ambition has evolved since 2015, in terms of domestic discourse, governance to...
This training module was developed as a supplementary training and learning resource for the “Guidelines for Safe Closure and Rehabilitation of Municipal Solid Waste Dumpsites in Sri Lanka,” published by the Ministry of Environment, Sri Lanka. The training Module was designed under the guidance of the Secretary, Director, Assistant Director and...