Decades of economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region have lifted billions out of extreme poverty and raised living standards. However, such growth has been accompanied by growing inequality and environmental decline.
ESCAP is calling for a global shift towards a sustainable economy that protects both human and environmental progress. Through leading research and policy advisory, ESCAP supports member States implement eco-friendly growth models, as encapsulated in this year’s Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2020: Towards sustainable economies.
Regression on SDG 12: Sustainable production and consumption also indicates the region must reconfigure production cycles. Asia and the Pacific contributes to almost half of the world’s plastic production, with river systems in the region leaking up to 95% of plastic in our oceans.
In response to this challenge, ESCAP’s Closing the Loop project, in partnership with the Government of Japan, is reducing the environmental impact of cities in ASEAN by addressing plastic waste pollution and leakages into the marine environment.
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