Publications

The world's major investors, banks and other financial institutions are taking note of the upcoming 26 th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in November 2021, and they are committing to take actions in line with the Paris Agreement on Net Zero. At the...

External emergency assistance (EEA) provided in the aftermath of a disaster has costs and benefits to the donor and recipient countries. Donors benefit from quick recovery feedback effects from the trade and cultural links, and recipient countries have additional resources to manage the emergency. However, EEA costs could outweigh the benefits...

The original aim of Goal 7 of New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) has been met: the Paris Agreement confirms forests’ pivotal role in the international climate agenda. But at a time when the protection, restoration, and sustainable management of forests have never been more urgent, global forest loss is in a worrying upward trend. It is still...

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...

This paper explores synergies between climate action and Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs)—an instrument to localise the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development used by regional and local governments to report and monitor their progress towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper argues that fighting climate change and...

This presentation introduces Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs), tracing their history and development since 2018, when the local governments of Kitakyushu, New York, Shimokawa, and Toyama presented the first ever reviews of progress of the local implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New...

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...

With the increasing spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, restrictions on public life were strengthened across the world. Non-pharmaceutical interventions like stay-at-home orders, cancellations of events, work from home, etc. are the first line of defense to combat the spread of highly transmittable infections like Covid-19. But these interventions...

This paper presents field experience in developing local waste management plans called Kebijakan Strategi Daerah ( Jakstrada) in the Lake Toba region, one of the popular tourist destinations in Indonesia. It examines the current waste management status and discusses key priorities and actions identified in the Jakstradas to improve the waste...

In Asia, Vietnam is one of the countries severely affected by energy shortages and climate change. Development of renewable energy from livestock wastes, e.g., production of electricity from biogas, is a solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pollution from untreated livestock wastes, as well as energy shortages. So that, biogas...