Lisa Hook

Heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan and India since early September have resulted in some of the worst flooding in decades, requiring immediate relief response, as hundreds of people have already lost their lives and millions more are affected.

The burgeoning growth of the apparel industry in Vietnam offers an opportunity to foster best practices in sustainable manufacturing processes. While China may be best known for, and is currently the leading global exporter for apparel, many multinational companies…

By 2050, estimates predict that close to 70 percent of the world will live in cities. Asia is home to 17 of the 25 most densely populated cities in the world, and the mass migration from the countryside to Asia’s cities is “unprecedented in human history” and has significant environmental consequences, according to the Asian Development Bank.

A recently released draft report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that global sea levels could rise by more than three feet by the end of the century if current emissions rates continue. It also states, more strongly than in previous assessment reports…

Two weeks ago, President Obama announced his new plan to address climate change. His three-pronged approach includes cutting greenhouse gas emissions, protecting our cities, people, and assets from the impacts of climate change, and leading international efforts to combat climate change. While his announcement predominantly addressed domestic efforts and the challenges for congressional action (he will instead use his executive powers to implement his proposed plan), President Obama touched upon a number of international actions. He re-visited the pledge he made in Copenhagen in 2009 for the U.S. to reduce emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.

Next week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will join leaders from the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) partner countries – Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam – for the sixth LMI Ministerial Meeting in Brunei, Darussalam. The meeting will be held on the margins of the ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial Meeting…

People were standing up and sitting down, intense negotiations were underway, funding decisions were being made, and a lot of commotion was coming from a crowd of over 300 policymakers, scientists, and practitioners from over 40 countries. We are gathered in Dhaka, Bangladesh…

My colleague Lisa Hook and I are currently in the Pacific Island countries of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), two small island states that face some of the highest risks of natural disasters and climate change.

The first Rio Convention on Sustainable Development in 1992 called for businesses to adopt a new blueprint for economic development – to incorporate social, environmental, and economic considerations into business operations. Over the last two decades, some international corporations…

On March 26, Bangladesh celebrated its 40th year as an independent nation. That same weekend, over 350 participants from over 60 countries gathered in Bangladesh for the 5th “International Conference on Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change.”

I arrived in Cambodia during the dry season in February. A few months later in May, the rainy season was just around the corner. Like many places, the passing of the year there is defined by these seasonal transitions. Cambodia’s rice farmers rely on rainwater to feed their crops, and Cambodia’s fisherman anticipate the natural shift in the Mekong… Read more

Next week on Monday, December 7, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen will commence. Despite deteriorating hopes for a binding international treaty to aggressively tackle climate change, the potential remains for useful dialogue, collaboration, and concerted steps forward. Already in the works is an agreement for collaborat… Read more

Natural resource depletion, development, energy demand, and climate change were all on the table at The Asia Foundation during last Friday morning’s launch of the China Environment Forum’s USAID-funded publication:  “Asia’s Future: Critical Thinking for a Changing Environment.” Featured speakers included Dr. Jennifer Turner, Director of the Woodrow… Read more