Aligning Climate Change and Sustainable Development Policies Asia

The climate emergency poses an increasingly severe threat to the health and well-being of more than a billion people in Asia. Policymakers in the region have sought to curb this threat by adopting clean energy, energy efficiency, and other sectoral policies. In some cases, these policies can bring additional benefits beyond mitigating climate change. These so-called “ ” —ranging from improved air quality to better health to socioeconomic equity—could not only offset the costs of climate mitigation but also make Asia’s development more sustainable. Yet all too frequently policymakers lack the analytical methods and practical experiences to incorporate co-benefits into their decisions. This has created difficulties in aligning climate and sustainable development policies in Asia.