Asia-Pacific Riskscape @ 1.5°C: Subregional Pathways for Adaptation and Resilience – Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2022 for ESCAP Subregions

Asia Pacific Disaster Report 2022 for ESCAP Subregions: Summary for Policymakers builds on ESCAP’s Asia Pacific Disaster Report 2021, Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2022 and the latest reports (2021/2022) issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). ESCAP has downscaled the global models of warming to Asia and the Pacific and its sub-regions. The Asia Pacific Disaster Report 2022 for ESCAP Subregions shows that under all climate-change scenarios, and in comparison to global averages, Asia and the Pacific will be most impacted by heavy precipitation, followed by agricultural drought, hot temperatures/heatwaves, and warming winds with intensifying tropical cyclones. Further, the Report highlights how each ESCAP subregion will be impacted in the medium to long term climate scenarios, and where the new hotspots of exposure and vulnerability to climate-induced, cascading multi-hazard scenarios will be created. This analysis highlights the sub-regional specificities which could otherwise be masked by the regional analysis.

The Report recommends three key policy action tracks:

Customized adaptation & resilience pathways with emphasis on risk informed development policies and investments. The adaptation gaps are critical in vulnerable subregions which are likely to be impacted the most in the 1.5-to-2-degree warming scenarios.

Frontier technologies and digital innovations not only reduce the cost of implementing the policy interventions, but also have game-changing impacts on scaling up transformative adaptation through enhanced risk analytics like impact forecasting and integrated multi-hazard risk assessment and early warning, surveillance, and strategic foresights, as well as for efficiently managing pandemics like COVID-19.

Regional co-operation along with subregional co-operation hold immense potential for addressing the region’s shared vulnerabilities and risks that are set to be more critical at 1.5 to 2 degrees warming. Sub-regional co-operation approaches is key to supporting transboundary ecosystem adaptations and nature-based solutions for building the region’s resilience and moving towards a climate resilient society for all.

Source: UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

RECENT NEWS