What the Asia-Pacific needs to leap forward on climate action

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

climate action, the Asia-Pacific needs to start delivering on ambitious emissions targets.
The Asia-Pacific's greenhouse gas emissions keep rising and in some respects the region is going backwards.
Climate action was the only Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 13) in which outcomes went backwards in the Asia-Pacific between 2015 and 2023.
Progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 13, taking «urgent action to address climate change», has been a case of two steps forward, one step back in the Asia-Pacific. Over the past two years, countries in the Asia-Pacific have made strides: China and Indonesia have undertaken to transition their economies to net zero by 2060, Australia and most Southeast Asian countries by 2050.
China has massively invested in renewable energy.

Indonesia has slowed deforestation, Vietnam has significantly expanded solar energy and Australia is aiming for more than 80 per cent of electricity to be renewable by 2030.
But a 2023 UN report said SDG 13 is «slipping away», and the Asia-Pacific was «both a victim… and a perpetrator of climate change». There's work to do in getting SDG 13 back on track.
Climate finance has increased but falls short of what is needed for both mitigation and adaptation efforts.

The financing gap is widening in emerging and developing economies due to discrepancies in financing cost.
For example, the estimated cost of capital for a solar PV panel in key emerging economies was between two and three times higher than in advanced economies and China.
The Asia-Pacific has vast potential to accelerate climate actions with strengthened collaboration. Increasing grid connectivity across Southeast Asian countries through the ASEAN Power Grid initiative can enhance energy security,