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Expert Opinions & Stories
Economic prospects in Asia and the Pacific – celebrate resilience, prepare for headwinds
Economic performance in Asia and the Pacific has proved to be quite resilient to the shocks of the past few years – the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and the cost-of-living…
Several Asia-Pacific countries are ageing fast. This transition is neither unique nor limited to the region - it is a global megatrend. However, this time it is different. Why? Because ageing…
Following persistent and determined efforts, Africa has achieved a breakthrough in advancing the establishment of an African credit rating agency (ACRA), with the proposed launch scheduled for…
When students from poor families in developing countries are offered places at prestigious universities, they are often faced with a tough choice. One option is to accept the offer and create more…
ESCAP Public Debt Dashboard – a one-stop shop to learn about public debt in Asia and the Pacific
The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2023 highlighted that 19 countries in the region are facing a high risk of debt distress.[1] While the public debt-to-GDP ratio is the most…
More and more developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region are struggling under mounting public debt, making it difficult for them to invest in sustainable development.
External debt servicing…
Drought is a slow-onset disaster that causes significant damage to the environment. Unlike most other natural hazards, the effects of drought often accumulate slowly over an extended period…
The unprecedented fiscal firepower used to protect the vulnerable from the harsh socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic contraction have pushed the average…
On this World Meteorological Day, WMO and ESCAP unpack the 2023 theme: Weather, Climate and Water across Generations – through a series of three opinion pieces focused on the Asia-Pacific region,…
Vanuatu twin cyclones underscore the Pacific’s vulnerability to compounding climate-disaster risks
Two destructive Category 4 tropical cyclones, Judy and Kevin, and an earthquake of 6.5 magnitude impacted over 80 per cent of the Vanuatu population from 1 to 3 March 2023. To address this emergency…
Reclaiming our future
The Asia-Pacific region is at a crossroads today – to further breakdown or breakthrough to a greener, better, safer future.
Since the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP…
After two years of human devastation, the world is learning to live with COVID-19 while trying to balance the protection of public health and livelihoods.
For countries in Asia and the Pacific,…
Emerging from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global economy has been shaken yet again, this time by geopolitical events that threaten to set back the nascent post-COVID-19 economic recovery,…
As we inch closer to the 1.5°C target and beyond in this century, the sixth generation of CIMP6 climate models (known as Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6) and the Shared Socio-economic…
The Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) are among the most vulnerable countries in the world to the impacts of climate change. The World Risk Index 2021 ranks several Pacific Island…
On January 14, 2022, the South Pacific experienced the incredible force of the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai. The plume reached 30 kilometers into the stratosphere, and the eruption was…
We, not me: building a fairer future
Even as Asia and the Pacific continues to be the fastest growing region in the world, economic growth has been slowing since the 2008 global financial crisis. Add the COVID-19 pandemic to the mix,…
Green recovery policies are still possible
In theory, the pandemic created an opportunity for policymakers to recalibrate existing policies and develop new, innovative strategies to mobilize financial resources and drive a green, inclusive,…
Strengthening resilience and raising climate ambition key for Asian and Pacific countries at COP26
A person in the Asia-Pacific region is four times more at risk of natural hazards than a person in Africa and sixteen times more than someone in North America or Europe. The “riskscape” of the region…
Recent research by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has shown that the world is likely to reach or exceed 1.5°C of warming much earlier than previously anticipated. The United in…