Why Asia-Pacific must accelerate action against climate change, poverty and hunger

The Asia-Pacific region is faltering on decades of progress in reducing poverty and hunger. Increasingly, severe climate-related hazards are threatening food security and triggering human displacement on an unprecedented scale.

The rapid rise in global temperatures is producing record breaking heat in major cities around the region. We are getting our first glimpse of a future where global temperatures rise beyond the climate tipping point of 1.5°C.

The burden of climate impacts is unevenly distributed, with poorer countries and communities far more vulnerable and less able to adapt. Droughts, floods and heatwaves are straining environmental and socio-economic systems, resulting in more poverty, less food security, and failing levels of health and nutrition.

Conflicts over land, water and food are also rising. The dire situation leaves the most vulnerable – women, children, older persons, persons with disabilities and Indigenous people – at even higher risk.

We are falling significantly short of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets. Projections indicate that 90% of the 116 measurable targets under the 17 SDGs set for 2030 will be missed if current trends persist.

The inextricably entangled issues of climate change, poverty and food security are the central theme of our new joint report People and Planet: Addressing the Interlinked Challenges of Climate Change, Poverty and Hunger in Asia and the Pacific.

The impacts are seen across the region: In Indonesia, delayed monsoons are associated with greater chronic and acute malnutrition. In Papua New Guinea, frequent El Niño-related droughts resulted in increased food and water insecurity, particularly in the highlands and rural areas.

In the Pacific, the effects of climate change on agriculture and fisheries are likely to drive up the reliance on imported foods of low nutritional quality, leading to a rising prevalence of obesity.

Elsewhere, rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns in the Hindu Kush Himalaya are causing glaciers to melt, disrupting water flows and agriculture, and threatening the livelihoods of millions.

The report’s findings are an urgent call to action. We must act quickly to increase collaboration and scale climate policies with inclusive social development practices, and to help governments address poverty, hunger and climate change, simultaneously.

Integrating policy and investments that consider social protection, resilient food systems, disaster risk reduction and sustainable agricultural practices is critical to an effective response, especially as country commitments to climate change mitigation and adaptation become central to development planning and progress.

Several countries in the region have already included social protection in their nationally determined contributions, or NDCs, which lie at the heart of the Paris Agreement.

In Cambodia, gender and social inclusion have been mainstreamed into their NDC, while Indonesia has developed the concept of just transition and prioritized the creation of decent jobs with adequate social protection.

Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Pakistan have taken steps to integrate disaster management strategies and social protection, and Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste have integrated social protection into their national action plans (NAPs).

At the regional level, the Regional Sustainable Consumption and Production Roadmap on Sustainable Food Systems is currently supporting a subregional policy dialogue focused on developing food systems in the Asia-Pacific region.

There are also good practices to leverage sustainable water management, reforestation and green food production systems that can help feed the world’s growing population, maintain the livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers, and reduce the environmental and climate impacts of our changing climate.

The COP28 Declaration on Agriculture, Food Systems and Climate Action identifies pathways to integrate agriculture and food systems into national action plans, offering a significant opportunity for governments in the region to better integrate responses to the triple challenges of climate, poverty and hunger and supporting countries to getting back on track on SDGs 1, 2, and 13.

The speed and scale of climate action required at this point demands collaboration. Strong partnerships between local and national governments, development partners and the private sector are required. This can build multi-stakeholder support for initiatives that extend beyond borders and beyond national self-interests.

Collaboration on advocacy, research, capacity building and knowledge networks is more critical than ever. Simply put, there is much to learn from each other, whether it means data sharing, open knowledge or technical know-how. Platforms that facilitate these are needed to move towards shared goals.

The Pacific Regional NDC Hub is currently supporting 15 Pacific Island states to enhance and implement their climate targets. In East Asia, the ASEAN Green Jobs Forum shares experiences in implementing the 2018 ASEAN Declaration on Promoting Green Jobs for Equity and Inclusive Growth.

Our long-standing partnership between Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is another example of such collaboration, leveraging synergies between partners for knowledge sharing, data generation and policy dialogue to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The call to action is clear. If we are to get the region on track to meet the SDG targets by 2030 – and build healthy, thriving, equitable, and sustainable communities – we must collaborate and build more open, transformative, and integrated approaches that address climate change, poverty and food insecurity together. If not, the impacts of climate change will escalate and the most vulnerable will pay the price.