As of 2023, the Asia-Pacific region reached only 17 per cent the progress required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. At the current pace, the region will only achieve all the 17 Goals by 2062 – marking a significant 32-year delay. More public investments are urgently needed to promote inclusive, resilient and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific. Yet, the ability of governments to increase, or even maintain, developmental spending is constrained.
Developing Asia-Pacific countries need to strengthen their domestic resource mobilization strategies and macroeconomic fundamentals to reduce fiscal risks and borrowing costs. To confront these development financing challenges, the United Nations Secretary-General launched the "SDG Stimulus to deliver the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" in February 2023. Together with reforms of the international financial architecture, it calls for immediate actions to cut government borrowing cost and make financing for governments longer term.
In this context, the 2024 edition of ESCAP’s flagship publication “Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific” examines how countries in the region, donors, multilateral development banks and credit rating agencies can boost the availability of affordable and long-term financing for Governments. The report also provides an analysis on the fiscal implications of global megatrends, especially demographic shifts, climate change and environmental degradation, and rapid technological advancements.
In East and North-East Asia, populations are ageing rapidly and the subregion is home to around one third of all older person aged 65 and above in the world. Climate change and environmental degradation is a subregional priority as well. East and North-East Asia (and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole) continues to struggle with taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. China, Japan and the Republic of Korea account for more than 30 per cent of global GHG emissions. In terms of technological advancements, a number of countries in the subregion are ranked in the top 20 economies on the frontier technologies readiness index.
