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The Gender Mainstreaming Strategy for USAID Clean Power Asia provides a framework to integrate gender equality into renewable energy planning, policy, and investment across ASEAN and Lower Mekong countries. It identifies the energy sector as heavily male-dominated and proposes a 'twin-track approach' that combines project-cycle mainstreaming with the development of 'gender champions' to address systemic biases. Key recommendations include adopting gender-lens investing, ensuring at least 33% female participation in activities, and shifting M&E from output-based to outcome-based tracking.

This report, developed by FHI 360 and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, provides an inventory and summary of digital technologies used to enhance resilience, primarily in Asia. It details a wide array of tools—ranging from mobile apps and IoT sensors to big data analytics and geospatial mapping—designed to support disaster preparedness, emergency response, and long-term livelihood stability for vulnerable populations.

This World Resources Institute working paper analyzes the alignment between the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) submitted under the Paris Agreement and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. By mapping climate actions across 92 INDCs, the authors demonstrate that climate policies often generate mutual benefits for sustainable development, though these synergies are frequently unrecognized or uncoordinated at the national level due to institutional silos.

This technical annex evaluates progress toward Goal 3 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which targets the reduction of deforestation from non-agricultural sectors. It identifies infrastructure, human settlements, and mining as the primary non-agricultural drivers, with logging as the main cause of forest degradation. The report highlights a significant lack of disaggregated data, making it impossible to establish quantitative indicators for progress. It reviews public policy tools such as import bans on illegal timber in the US, EU, and Australia, and the use of Strategic Environmental Impact Assessments (SEA) by the World Bank. Private sector efforts include FSC and PEFC certifications, though certified forest land has plateaued at 10% since 2008, and emerging responsible mining initiatives like the Oro Verde program in Colombia.

This research paper analyzes the impact of currency risk on infrastructure projects in developing markets, arguing that hard currency loans from International Financing Institutions (IFIs) create dangerous asset-liability mismatches. The authors propose that IFIs shift their strategy from direct lending to developing local capital markets and providing credit guarantees. This approach aims to leverage private commercial capital and reduce the financial burden on host governments and end-users.

This report reviews Myanmar's investment treaty landscape as of June 2014, analyzing the legal implications of its bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and agreements negotiated through ASEAN. It highlights significant variations in drafting and provisions across these treaties, which increase the complexity of government compliance and the risk of costly investor-state arbitration claims.

This research synthesis brief from the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) outlines the organization's work on climate change adaptation and vulnerability. It emphasizes that vulnerability is primarily driven by socioeconomic and political conditions rather than climate exposure alone, and argues that adaptation and development are inextricably linked. The document details SEI's technical support, capacity-building initiatives like weADAPT, and regional projects across Asia and the Nordic countries, while highlighting the inherent limits of adaptation.

This policy brief analyzes Thailand's pioneering approach to renewable energy through the implementation of Small Power Producer (SPP) and Very Small Power Producer (VSPP) programs. By utilizing a feed-in premium known as the 'Adder,' Thailand successfully attracted private investment and rapid growth in solar and biogas. The document highlights the crucial role of civil society in policy design and the government's current shift toward a feed-in tariff to manage costs and ensure a more balanced renewable energy portfolio.

This case study examines the investment incentive policies for renewable energy in Thailand, analyzing their effectiveness in overcoming barriers to deployment. It details a variety of financial, fiscal, and regional incentives, while highlighting the transition from a feed-in premium (adder) system to a fixed-price feed-in tariff (FIT) to manage costs and avoid overcapacity.

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute outlines lessons from the Regional Climate Change Adaptation Knowledge Platform for Asia (AKP) regarding the gaps between climate research and practical adaptation. It highlights systemic failures in knowledge dissemination, the scarcity of sub-national and sector-specific data, and the critical need to integrate local traditional knowledge and multi-language materials to support decision-makers and practitioners across Asia.

This research paper examines the potential for services trade liberalization, specifically in financial and logistics sectors, to enhance food security within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The authors argue that while liberalization alone may not solve rural financial exclusion or infrastructure gaps, integrating food security objectives into services sector reform could provide a strategic rationale for deepening regional integration.

This research paper by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the role of safeguards and the pursuit of 'multiple benefits' within the REDD+ mechanism established by the Cancun Agreements. It explores how safeguard systems can move beyond a 'do no harm' approach to actively promote sustainable development, poverty alleviation, and biodiversity conservation. The document analyzes various international safeguard standards, reviews how developing countries are integrating these into their Readiness Preparation Proposals (R-PPs), and discusses the institutional and financial challenges of creating a transparent information-sharing system for monitoring compliance.

This briefing paper examines the proliferation and nature of South-South Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), analyzing whether agreements between developing countries differ from the traditional North-South templates. It concludes that while some developing nations are beginning to introduce bespoke provisions and policy exceptions, the majority of South-South BITs continue to mirror the European models established in the 1950s and 1960s.

This briefing, published by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network in November 2010, analyzes the regional implications for Asia of the recommendations made by the Advisory Group on Climate Finance (AGF). It examines Asia's climate exposure, emissions profile, and the financial requirements for mitigation and adaptation, while evaluating the opportunities and risks posed by proposed global climate finance mechanisms.

This briefing examines the tension between trade liberalization and environmental protection within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with a specific focus on the Mekong subregion. It argues that while regional strategies and national laws exist, actual implementation is often weak, frequently driven by foreign donor interests rather than internal political will, and hindered by a regional preference for non-binding 'soft law'.

This fact sheet examines the challenges of balancing trade liberalization and environmental protection in the Mekong Subregion. It highlights the gap between regional policy rhetoric and actual implementation, the impact of illegal trade on biodiversity, and the dominant role of foreign donors in driving environmental agendas within trade policy.

This report examines the complex interlinkages between trade, climate change, and food security in mainland Southeast Asia, with a detailed case study on Cambodia. It argues that food insecurity in the region persists despite surplus rice production due to structural economic weaknesses and vulnerability to external shocks. The author advocates for a holistic, participatory, and long-term policy approach to mitigate the risks posed by climate change and volatile global markets.

This 2010 policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines how air pollution, energy production, and pesticide use threaten the ecosystem services necessary to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It argues that the degradation of approximately 60 per cent of examined ecosystem services may prevent the eradication of hunger and poverty, particularly in developing regions.

This research paper examines how national governments can engage the private sector to support climate change adaptation. It argues that private sector participation depends on a strong business case for long-term resiliency and suggests that governments must identify specific business sectors and align public and private interests to promote the public good while discouraging activities that harm vulnerable populations.

This research paper by Oxfam America, published as part of the 2010 World Resources Report, examines how civil society organizations (CSOs) can support and hold national governments accountable in integrating climate change risks into policy. The authors argue that while CSOs are vital for emergency disaster response, their most significant contribution lies in addressing long-term climatic risks through mutual partnership with states and communities. Using research from seven countries, including Cambodia, the paper highlights the risks of top-down fund management and advocates for transformative citizen participation to ensure climate finance reaches the most vulnerable populations.