Climate Change

6:00 pm PT Global Citizen Awards recognizes community leaders who have significantly influenced the world in which we live, work and learn and this year, and honors individuals who have taken bold action on climate change and have thus increased our understanding and awareness of this critical global challenge. The Asia Foundation is proud to cospo… Read more

Vietnam is facing enormous challenges due to climate change, with an increase in a variety of extreme climate events. Countless international studies have shown that Vietnam is one of the top 10 countries most seriously affected by climate change. Originating from this reality, and with the support of the global courier group UPS, Vietnam Chamber o… Read more

There were no fish in the Nong Tham Hee wetland in the 2017 dry season. There were none in the 2018 dry season. The people of Nyangkham village, who once fished here year around, saw only cracked, parched earth. Over the years, the water had slowly dwindled, as farmers in the village expanded their rice paddies into the wetlands and disrupted their… Read more

Recently, youth leaders from around Pakistan gathered to examine some of the most critical issues facing Pakistan: the water crisis and governance challenges in the water sector, and energy, food, and sustainable and efficient ways forward. The Asia Foundation, in partnership with the School of Leadership, organized a panel discussion on “Water-Ene… Read more

On June 18-19, The Asia Foundation supported the Third Northeast Asian Mayors’ Forum, which was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Since its establishment in 2014, the Forum has become a platform for expanding regional cooperation and discussing the challenges of sustainable urban development. Previously the Foundation also partnered with the city when… Read more

Strengthening the capacity of policy makers and practitioners in Bhutan, Mongolia, and Nepal to reduce greenhouse gases and short-lived climate pollutants from the waste sector, based on circular economy concept.

Бутан, Монгол болон Балба улсад хог хаягдлаас ялгарах хүлэмжийн хий, уур амьсгалын өөрчлөлтөд нөлөөлөх богино наст бохирдуулагч бодисыг хаягдалгүй эдийн засгийн үзэл баримтлалд суурилан бууруулахад оролцогч талуудын чадавхыг бэхжүүлэх

In the last year, Asia experienced both highs and lows: historic elections in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, devastating earthquakes in South Asia, booming growth in India and slumping economies in China and Mongolia, anti-government protests in Malaysia, South Korea, and beyond, aging populations juxtaposed with unprecedented youth bulges…

In a departure from previous UN climate talks, the Conference of the Parties (COP21) currently taking place in Paris aims to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate change.

Malaysia’s wealth of natural resources has been indispensable to its economic growth, but this growth has come at significant human and environmental cost. Although the Southeast Asian nation met all eight of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) before the 2015 deadline…

In the early years of Renovation (Doi Moi), at a time when the market economy was just beginning to gain a foothold, Hanoi was a much greener city than it is today. Nearly all the fruits and vegetables, meats, and fish consumed here were produced in the suburbs and sold fresh in the city’s public markets. Within the city, Ho Tay and Bay Mau lakes produced hundreds of tons of fish per year.

The latest United Nations World Water Development Report, released just ahead of World Water Day on March 22, warns that, by 2030, only 60 percent of the world’s demand for water will be met by existing resources at the current rate of use.

As predicted, the Philippines is heading into a severe “summer” power crisis. One peculiarity of the widespread use of English in the Philippines is the mismatch between seasonal names and the months of the year. Leaves start falling from trees in March – is it “autumn?”

In Asia editor Alma Freeman sat down with Asia Foundation trustee Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, who visited Asia Foundation headquarters in San Francisco having just concluded a 7-month post as chargé d’affaires at the U.S Embassy in New Delhi.

Last week, Joon-Kyung Kim, president of leading economic policy think tank, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) and the KDI School of Public Policy and Management, visited The Asia Foundation’s headquarters in San Francisco for a signing ceremony to extend the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)…

With support from the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities challenge, a number of cities across Asia are beginning to confront the impacts of climate change. Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, recently selected as one of Resilient Cities’ newest member cities and home to 1.5 million people, is one. Due to its low elevation and proximity to the Mekong River…

Severe floods in the Kashmir region of Northern India and Pakistan over the past few weeks have taken 450 lives so far, and uprooted thousands of residents on both sides of the highly politicized border. Heavy monsoon rains caused the Chenab and Jhelum rivers (tributaries of the Indus River system) to overflow their banks…

Disaster insurance has quickly risen up the global policy agenda in the last few years, where phrases like “loss and damage mechanisms” and “micro-insurance schemes” are catching fire in climate change discussions about how to finance the costs…

A new report from the Asian Development Bank sent a warning signal to Mongolia that, despite its wealth of natural resources and pristine image, the country faces a severe water scarcity and quality crisis – one that could leave its growing capital…

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.

In Asia editor Alma Freeman recently interviewed co-founder and Director of Programs and Communications at the Greenovation Hub, a grassroots NGO that focuses on environmental protection and innovation in China.

Images of the major rivers of Asia – including the mighty Mekong that snakes through Southeast Asia and the Ganges and other revered rivers that bisect the subcontinent – might seem at odds with the sobering fact that Asia is the world’s driest…

On June 5, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will focus its World Environment Day campaign around “Raise Your Voice, Not the Sea Level” to draw attention to the issue of rising oceans worldwide. Sea level rise is an inevitable consequence of the overall increase…

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have exhibited high growth rates over the past decades, weathering even the worst of the global financial crisis. This impressive growth and accompanying rise in household income has brought great benefits to the ASEAN population…

In this video, documentary photographer Conor Ashleigh narrates his recent experiences on assignment with The Asia Foundation where he traveled to Khulna in the Delta region of Bangladesh – one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate change.

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…

The World Bank’s second “Turn Down the Heat” report warns of dramatic changes that will occur in the world’s poorest countries if the Earth’s temperature rises 2-4°C above pre-industrial levels. The report delves into some of the changes that will impact Asia, one of the world’s most vulnerable regions…

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.