Over the past 60 years, Asia has experienced rapid urbanization and industrialization, changing demographics, and increasing consumption and demand for resources. As a result, environmental quality in the region has been significantly degraded - ambient air pollution is widely recognized as a serious public health issue throughout the region, increasing water scarcity and water pollution are threatening the safety and availability of water resources, and a lack of sanitation and waste infrastructure poses health hazards and pollutes waterways.
This report reviews past and ongoing applications of market-based instruments (MBIs) to address air quality, water and waste management in Asia and provides recommendations for more efficient and effective environmental management. it also reviews opportunities in key sectors to scale up the use of MBIs to more efficiently address environmental impacts. These include MBIs to address air pollution in the energy production, industrial and transportation sectors as well as at the household level; water resources management and water quality, particularly in the agriculture sector; and waste management across the waste stream.