This paper provides estimates of the costs of organic agriculture (OA) programs, and sets them in the context of the costs of attaining the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It analyzes the costs of OA programs in four case studies: Wanzai, PRC; Wuyuan, PRC; Kandy, Sri Lanka; and...

Lack of cooling and cold-chain access is a critical development challenge that has significant implications for people's livelihoods, productivity, health, food, and nutritional security. While business-as-usual demand projections suggest 19 new cooling appliances will be sold every second by...

The expansion of green renewable energy has been very limited in all the Asian countries, despite their various differences. The contributing factors are numerous, but, the financial factor has been the single major factor determining whether or not a country opts for such energy. This is...

ESG investments have attracted wider attention from both investors and customers worldwide. These investments largely follow a triple-bottom-line approach that combines financial returns with environmental and social norms. The study in this context carries out a detailed assessment of the ESG...

This paper explores options for mobilizing domestic savings through fintech solutions to scale up sustainable investment. Most developing and emerging economies face an urgent need to scale up sustainable finance for low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure investment, yet underdeveloped...

The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and implementation of the Paris Agreement will require significant new investment. New financial technologies ("fintech") offer the potential to unlock green finance technologies, such as blockchain, the Internet of Things and big data,...

This paper presents the findings of a survey among 18 central banks from Asia and the Pacific regarding their views on and policies regarding sustainable finance. It also reviews recent developments in selected Asia and Pacific countries concerning sustainable finance to illustrate the actions...

Infrastructure development with properly planned safeguard measures is essential from the sustainable development perspective for the economic development in developing countries. The paper intends to identify the potential of social safeguard policies for the sustainable transport sector within...

The study explores the dimensions of energy insecurity on small islands in terms of heavy dependence on fossil fuels and the challenges involved in improving efficiency and renewable energy capacity to enhance energy security in the electricity system. Although all inhabited islands in the...

Placing the Asian economies onto a sustainable development pathway requires an unprecedented shift in investment away from greenhouse gas, fossil fuel and natural resource intensive industries towards more resource efficient technologies and business models. The financial sector will have to...