The impacts of multiple and compounding crises—e.g. climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis driven by recent war-related food and energy crises and post-pandemic inflation—have been particularly devastating for poor and vulnerable groups. The severity of climate change is becoming increasingly evident in the Asia-Pacific region, as the region has experienced almost double the warming trend over the last 30 years. In the past year alone, 152 reported disasters triggered by natural hazards in the Asia-Pacific region caused 7,636 fatalities, 48,542 injuries, and affected 64 million people, with a total cost of US$57 billion. The multiplier effect of climate change further compounds challenges faced by vulnerable populations, exacerbating inequalities across many dimensions beyond income, increasing the vulnerability of individuals to threats such as food insecurity, malnutrition, hunger, and enduring poverty.
In this context, it is essential to place the needs of the poor and vulnerable groups (including women, the elderly, children, and persons with disabilities) at the core of policy responses. Therefore, the 2024 Asia-Pacific SDG Partnership Report will focus on the multifaceted relationship between climate change, poverty, and hunger in times of multiple crises, in line with the SDGs under review at the 2024 APFSD (SDGs 1, 2, 13, 16, and 17).
The report will (1) investigate climate change impacts on intersectional dimensions of poverty and (2) identify a range of innovative solutions from the region that apply the nexus approach to address in interlinked issues of climate change, poverty, and hunger. The solutions will have the potential to collectively address poverty reduction and food insecurity, while also supporting climate actions.
To this end, ESCAP, ADB, and UNDP will organize a focused consultation session on 2024 Asia-Pacific SDG Partnership Report on 9 October 2023 from 15:30-17:00 hours back-to-back with ESCAP’s annual South and South-West Asia Multistakeholder Forum on the Implementation of the SDGs from 10-12 October 2023.
This 1.5-hour consultation session aims to gather valuable inputs, insights, and ideas from SDG practitioners on challenges, opportunities, solutions, good practices, and pragmatic policy recommendations that feed into the 2024 Asia-Pacific SDG partnership report. The session will serve as an inclusive platform for stakeholders to share experiences, knowledge, and approaches in addressing the interconnected challenges of climate change, poverty, and food security.
