New Report | Building Sustainable Futures: Advancing Climate Resilience in South Asia

Monday, November 4 – Asia Society Policy Institute has published “Building Sustainable Futures: Advancing Climate Resilience in South Asia” in collaboration with World Bank South Asia Region. The report is a culmination of several expert-level climate action roundtables and distills key insights focused on three critical themes: (1) the water-food-energy security nexus in South Asia, (2) strategies for catalyzing climate finance for resilience, and (3) the political economy of climate change. The roundtables and report were spearheaded by Farwa Aamer, ASPI’s director of South Asia Initiatives, and supported by Meera Gopal, senior program officer with ASPI’s climate policy team.

“South Asia, characterized by diverse geography and climatic variability, faces severe and escalating threats from climate change. The region’s environmental richness and dense population amplify its vulnerability. These climatic impacts necessitate urgent policy interventions to mitigate threats, adapt in a timely manner, and ensure resilient development and a sustainable future for the region,” writes Aamer. She notes that addressing the climate crisis in South Asia mandates a “nuanced approach” that integrates diplomacy, leadership from the private sector, financial commitments, and political will.

“The socioeconomic, political, and institutional challenges that pervade South Asia – rooted in diverse governance structures, entrenched inequalities, and varying levels of development – pose significant barriers to the formulation and implementation of effective climate policies,” writes Aamer.

Among these barriers are the — in some cases tumultuous — political transitions that have recently unfolded across South Asia. “Although climate change and energy transition remain urgent priorities, economic and political instability in the region will require new governments to focus policy action on these ‘primary’ issues first, potentially putting climate policies on the back burner,” writes Aamer.

Read the full report here. To interview Farwa Aamer or Meera Gopal, please contact [email protected]