Browse Research

This white paper provides an analysis of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for 37 partner countries in the U.S. Government's Enhancing Capacity for Low Emission Development Strategies (EC-LEDS) program and other designated priority countries. The white paper includes an overview of global INDCs, country profiles for countries, regional trends, and sectoral trends. Moreover, each country profile includes information from the INDC on the:

Inclusive Green Economy (IGE) approaches and those that address the Poverty-Environment Nexus (PEN) can play a central role in advancing the SDGs. This report seeks to further the understanding of the practicalities of embedding integrated approaches across the planning cycle in countries at various stages of development. In particular, this report synthesizes a wide range of policy and programming experiences, and draws on the findings of eight national scoping studies (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Peru, Rwanda, Tajikistan and Viet Nam) on integrated planning.

Biomass combustion with traditional cookstoves causes substantial environmental and health harm. Nontraditional cookstove technologies can be efficacious in reducing this adverse impact, but they are adopted and used at puzzlingly low rates. This study analyzes the determinants of low demand for nontraditional cookstoves in rural Bangladesh by using both stated preference (from a nationally representative survey of rural women) and revealed preference (assessed by conducting a cluster-randomized trial of cookstove prices) approaches. The authors find consistent evidence across both analyses suggesting that the women in rural Bangladesh do not perceive indoor air pollution as a significant health hazard, prioritize other basic developmental needs over nontraditional cookstoves, and overwhelmingly rely on a free traditional cookstove technology and are therefore not willing to pay much for a new nontraditional cookstove.

Green finance is a strategy for financial sector and broader sustainable development that is relevant around the world. But the context differs considerably for different countries. Developing countries, notably those with underdeveloped financial systems, face particular challenges in financing national development priorities.

Broadly, concern and action to align financing to sustainable development is concentrated in three areas:

The rapid growth experienced in Asia has come at a cost to our environment, such as air pollution, water contamination and scarcity, chemicals in soils and food and over- exploitation of forest and marine resources. This unsustainable approach to growth has significant and immediate impacts on people, particularly the poor and marginalized people whose livelihoods largely depend on natural resources. Climate change has already, and will continue to, intensify these problems.

The UNDP-UNEP Poverty Environment Initiative (PEI) offers a unique way of tackling these issues together by offering policy options to governments on how sustainable use of natural resources can help reduce poverty and maintain economic growth. With strong support from six donors globally, PEI in Asia Pacific is working with nine countries to mainstream pro-poor natural resource management into economic policies and decision making to achieve more inclusive green economies.