Central Asia remains highly dependent on polluting solid fuels despite significantly increasing access to cleaner alternatives in the region. 

In this podcast, ADBI’s Dina Azhgaliyeva and Ranjeeta Mishra, and CAREC Institute’s Kamalbek Karymshakov explain the implications of this gap, and what policy makers can do about it moving forward.

The discussion draws upon their recent article in the Journal of Environmental Management entitled, “Why energy access is not enough for choosing clean cooking fuels” and ADBI working paper entitled, “What determines coal consumption for heating residential space in Central Asia.” 

Read the transcript
https://bit.ly/2TxU9aE

Related link
Why Is Energy Access Not Enough for Choosing Clean Cooking Fuels? Sustainable Development Goals and Beyond
https://bit.ly/3gtArpF

What determines coal consumption for heating residential space in Central Asia
https://bit.ly/2UbPXha

How one of Asia’s most dirty fuel-reliant areas can transition to clean energy use

With COVID-19 lockdowns, quarantine requirements, and work from home arrangements still prevalent, how will the pandemic impact the future of public transport and what lessons can policy makers in Asia learn from global experiences within the sector? 

In this podcast, we take a look at what’s happening outside the region with Greg Marsden of the University of Leeds Institute of Transport Studies, who describes travel developments in the United Kingdom. He details COVID-19 era working pattern shifts, commuter behavior, and the implications for the economics of public transport and public policy, including key takeaways for Asia’s cities.

Read the transcript
https://bit.ly/3rccB5v

Related link
ADBI Featured Speaker Webinar: Greg Marsden on COVID-19 Era Travel Behavior and its Policy Implications in the United Kingdom
https://bit.ly/3hK7CWu

What do COVID-19 work behavior adaptations in the UK reveal about the future of public transport?

Developing Asia will require around $30 trillion in infrastructure investment through 2030, according to the Asian Development Bank. But how has COVID-19 affected the infrastructure landscape and what role can the sector play in pandemic recovery across the region? 

In this podcast, New Zealand Infrastructure Commission Board Chair Alan Bollard describes post-pandemic infrastructure development conditions and impacts in Asia and the Pacific. He also addresses onward project financing, climate change, and sustainability considerations.

The discussion draws on an ADBI Featured Speaker Webinar with Dr Bollard, who served as Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor during the Global Financial Crisis and its aftermath as well as Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat in Singapore from 2013 to 2018.

Read the transcript
https://adbi.me/2VfIu1a

Related link
ADBI Featured Speaker Webinar: New Zealand Infrastructure Commission Board Chair Alan Bollard on the Role of Infrastructure in COVID-19 Recovery
https://adbi.me/3qBoO3o

New Zealand Commission Board Chair Assesses the Future of Infrastructure Development in Asia

The burden of water collection and distribution often disproportionately falls on the shoulders of women in Asia’s developing economies, where gaps in water infrastructure and hygiene persist and are particularly acute at a household level.

In this podcast, Ashish Sedai of Colorado State University describes clean water access challenges in the region, how the adoption of piped water in households in India is helping to increase women's labor force participation, and the impact gender-balanced household income can have on water service quality and sustainable development.

Read the transcript
https://adbi.me/2XqEvQo

Related link
Who Benefits from Piped Water in the House? Empirical Evidence from a Gendered Analysis in India
https://adbi.me/3wy1sgu

India shows how boosting clean water delivery can improve women’s economic participation

COVID-19 recovery in developing Asia could follow a traditional growth path that relies on carbon- and resource-intensive production. By contrast, the transition to a circular economy could deliver greener and more enduring post-pandemic growth in the region. 

In this podcast, ADBI’s Linda Arthur and Derek Hondo, describe the prospects for achieving such a breakthrough and associated principles and policy priorities.

Read the transcript
https://adbi.me/3kIbiZj

Related link
Virtual Conference on Circular Economy in Emerging Markets: Unlocking the Potential for Green Recovery in Developing Asia
https://adbi.me/2WCCGPK

How to boost the circular economy and potential for a green recovery in Asia

Like other emerging markets in Asia, Central Asia faces a significant need for infrastructure development to support onward growth but a comparable shortfall in project financing and implementation capacity.

In this podcast, ADBI’s Dina Azhgaliyeva and Ranjeeta Mishra, and the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Institute’s Kamalbek Karymshakov explain the importance of bridging these infrastructure gaps for firm performance and trade in Central Asia. They also describe how policy lessons and solutions here can be applied to other parts of developing Asia.

The discussion draws upon the ADBI working paper entitled, Infrastructure and Firm Performance in CAREC Countries: Cross-Sectional Evidence at the Firm Level.

Read the transcript
https://adbi.me/3EVEcOH

What Central Asia can tell us about bridging infrastructure and firm competitiveness gaps

In this podcast, Vegard Skirbekk of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and Columbia University describes a new measure of aging burden that takes into account age-related health – the health adjusted dependency ratio. Skirbekk explains how this indicator overturns common assumptions about the population aging burden and its impacts across countries reflected in the traditional old-age dependency ratio. He also describes the policy significance, especially in countries with young but rapidly aging populations, including those in developing Asia.

Read the transcript: https://adbi.me/3LuupRF

Overturning common assumptions about the burden of population aging

Benjamin Diokno started his appointment as Governor of Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas, or BSP, in March 2019. He has spent much of his term as head of the Philippine central bank guiding the country’s economy through the COVID-19 crisis. 

In this podcast, Governor Diokno discusses the Philippines’ post-pandemic recovery, which he says is well underway and proceeding faster than expected. Designated as the next Finance Secretary of the Philippines, he also describes next steps to sustain the economy’s momentum in the face of new challenges. 

The discussion draws upon his ADBI Featured Speaker Webinar on the Macroeconomy, Fintech, and Sustainable Recovery amid New Uncertainties.

Read the transcript: https://adbi.me/3mZNCkm

Central bank governor & finance secretary-designate on sustaining the Philippines' recovery momentum

The Think7, or T7, is the think tank engagement group of the Group of 7 (G7) launched under Germany’s 2022 G7 presidency. 

In this podcast, ADBI Dean Tetsushi Sonobe, Co-Chair of the T7 Task Force on Sustainable Economic Recovery, and ADBI’s John Beirne and Dina Azhgaliyeva discuss the role and future of the T7. This includes its capacity to support partnership between the G7 and emerging economies in Asia and the Pacific, and globally, and the implications for sustainable development.

Read the transcript: https://adbi.me/3nsdqGd

T7 and its support for G7-Global South cooperation explained

Indonesia’s Group of 20 (G20) presidency in 2022 marks the start of three successive  years in which the annual forum of the world’s largest economies will be hosted by developing countries, to be followed by India in 2023 and Brazil in 2024.

In this podcast, Pramod Bhasin, Chair of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), discusses India’s G20 presidency countdown and policy imperatives. He also describes the outlook for Indonesia, India, and Brazil’s G20 presidencies and their potential significance for the global economy.

Read the transcript: https://adbi.me/3d3Kp1O

How the G20’s succession of developing country presidencies could help re-shape the global economy

Asia and the Pacific is the world’s primary region for investment in low-carbon transition technologies. Despite recent growth trends, however, investment in clean energy still falls short of the level needed to meet global carbon emission reduction targets and fight climate change. 

In this podcast, ADBI’s Dina Azhgaliyeva and John Beirne, and Ranjeeta Mishra from the Reserve Bank of India explain the effect of government renewable energy policies on private investment, drawing upon developments in Asia and the Pacific. They also discuss possible next steps for stimulating private investment in renewable energy.

The discussion draws upon their Climate Policy Journal article, "What Matters for Private Investment in Renewable Energy?"

Transcript: https://adbi.me/3zWgujJ

What Asia tells us about government’s role in fueling private renewable energy investment

Indonesia is the world’s fourth-largest producer of coal, Southeast Asia’s biggest gas supplier, and the largest biofuel producer globally, according to the International Energy Agency. Yet oil imports in Indonesia are increasing as incomes and consumption rise among the 250 million people of the archipelago, which holds the Group of 20 (G20) presidency in 2022 and will chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2023.

In this podcast, ADBI’s Dina Azhgaliyeva, ASEAN Centre for Energy Executive Director Nuki Agya Utama, and Kuki Soejachmoen, co-chair of the climate and energy transition task force of the G20’s think tank engagement group, Think20 (T20), talk about energy transition in Asia and how Indonesia’s leadership in the G20 and ASEAN could shape energy transition cooperation.

The discussion draws upon a T20-associated roundtable on energy transition financing that was held as part of the 43rd International Association of Energy Economics International Conference.

Transcript: https://adbi.me/3cQp6RC

How 2022 G20 president and 2023 ASEAN chair Indonesia could shape energy transition cooperation

In this podcast, Nobel laureate Michael Kremer, an economics professor at the University of Chicago, discusses digitalization experiences and lessons learned within the agricultural sector and prospects for digital rural and agricultural development.

Transcript: adbi.me/3UzcXS5

Nobel laureate Michael Kremer on closing the digital rural and agricultural development divide

The COVID-19 crisis, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, energy security challenges, supply shortages, and soaring inflation continue to disrupt global trade and put economies worldwide under increasing pressure. 

In this podcast, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat Executive Director Rebecca Sta Maria explains APEC member economies’ efforts to rebuild supply chains and promote more inclusive and resilient trade growth in the face of high uncertainty. 

Read the transcript: adbi.me/3tlMD1h

APEC’s Rebecca Sta Maria on regional cooperation to revive supply chains

Asia and the Pacific account for over 50% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Recognizing the urgent need for action to limit global warming to 1.5°C and fight climate change, governments in the region are increasingly committing to the ambitious target of net-zero carbon emissions by around mid-century.

In this podcast, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Climate Envoy Warren Evans explains the benefits of climate change mitigation efforts to developing countries in Asia and the Pacific and discusses some solutions for achieving their carbon reduction commitments, and provides a blueprint for long-term emissions cuts critical to climate change mitigation and resilience.

Read the transcript: adbi.me/3ALDqn8

Developing Asia’s climate change mitigation outlook

Under the concept of “inclusive sanitation,” access to a safe and clean toilet is considered a right, not a privilege. Yet the world still has work to do to deliver sanitation for all by 2030, as targeted by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and recent efforts to consider gender minorities in the sector are an emerging imperative. 

In this podcast, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Urban Development Specialist Alexandra Conroy, ADB Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Specialist Shuvechha Khadka, and WaterAid’s Head of Policy and Advocacy Seema Rajouria discuss how gender identity affects sanitation users’ experiences in developing Asia and the Pacific, drawing upon case studies from Nepal. They also describe actions to make sanitation more inclusive for transgender people. 

Transcript: adbi.me/3v87aqO

How to move toward inclusive sanitation for gender minorities in developing Asia: Lessons from Nepal

Supply chain disruptions linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its economic impacts continue to undermine energy and food security. They are also prompting economies and businesses to rethink how they obtain critical raw materials and component parts.

In this podcast, Alexander Plekhanov of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) discusses new research on the impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on economies and global supply chains, highlighting mechanisms and policy options to restore economic activity and ingrain resilience. He also describes international trade effects for economies in Central Asia and the Caucasus and the factors behind them. 

The discussion draws upon his ADBI Featured Speaker Webinar on EBRD’s 2022-23 Transition Report on the policy implications of “business unusual” conditions in the global economy.

Transcript: adbi.me/3CrHmds

The disruptive effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on economies and global supply chains

COVID-19-induced school closures have significantly disrupted learning and contributed to learning losses that could have lasting socioeconomic impacts.

In this podcast, Harvard University education professor Fernando Reimers examines the pandemic’s effects on education, disparities faced by developing countries, and lessons for mitigating future education disruptions. 

The discussion draws upon his ADBI Featured Speaker Webinar on building resilient education systems after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transcript: adbi.me/3kFlEwG

How to recover learning losses from COVID-19 school closures

Fast-growing developing and emerging countries in Asia and beyond are facing the dual challenges of meeting increasing energy demand while tackling carbon emissions to fight climate change.

In this podcast, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB) Chief Economist Erik Berglof describes policy tools a state can use to accelerate private sector-backed carbon net zero transition, such as state-owned financial institutions and private-public partnerships. He also explains how these tools can be integrated into national strategies to promote innovation and technology adoption.

The discussion draws upon his ADBI Featured Speaker Webinar on state capacity and private sector mobilization toward net zero in emerging economies.  

Transcript: adbi.me/3RVe65e

What’s in the carbon net zero toolbox for consumption-driven developing countries?

The realization of carbon net-zero economies in Asia and beyond will depend on the capacity of sectors to adopt decarbonization solutions.

In this podcast, Professor Frank Jotzo, Professor Llewelyn Hughes, and Dr Tom Longden from the Australian National University Crawford School of Public Policy discuss hydrogen’s potential to support the global transition to clean energy and the decarbonization of heavy industry sectors such as steel production. They also highlight policies and financing mechanisms that could help.

Transcript: adbi.me/3ltgmFk

The economics of achieving carbon net zero in Asia’s heavy industry sectors

The “metaverse” is an emerging concept that could open the door to new service delivery and job creation. But what is the metaverse exactly and how could it affect developing economies in Asia and the Pacific?

In this podcast, Beth Ann Lim, director of policy programs and campaigns at Meta Asia Pacific, and Professor Yong Lim at the Seoul National University AI Policy Initiative discuss the metaverse, its economic implications, and policy options to maximize its potential to support inclusive growth in the region.

Transcript: adbi.me/3nQIGSz

Understanding the rise of “metaverse” and its significance for developing Asia

Many governments and non-governmental entities are making ambitious pledges to reduce carbon emissions and move toward a global net-zero level by 2050 to fight climate change. Whether these goals can be achieved will depend on implementation work that verifies pledges are legitimate and not simply empty promises known as ‘greenwashing’. In this podcast, Catherine McKenna, Canada’s former Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Chair of the High-level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities, explains what policy makers can do to prevent greenwashing and accelerate carbon emissions reduction in Asia and the Pacific.

Transcript: adbi.me/43oEOrZ

How Asia can prevent carbon net-zero ‘greenwashing’

Economic policy prescriptions for crisis-hit developing countries known as the “Washington Consensus” have boosted prosperity in Asia and beyond but also have been criticized for negatively affecting manufacturing jobs and the labor force in developed countries.

In this podcast, Jenny Gordon, Honorary Professor at the Centre for Social Research and Methods at the Australian National University, explains the principles and limitations of the Washington Consensus and how countries can approach them effectively moving forward.

Transcript: adbi.me/3Ow6AxQ

The way forward for "Washington Consensus" development reforms

In this podcast, the Asian Development Bank Institute’s Santi Setiawati spotlights Japan’s innovative sanitation and wastewater management systems and the implementation lessons they offer developing countries in Asia seeking to address coverage gaps within the sector.

The discussion is based on the ADBI policy brief The Financial and Institutional Mechanism of the Sanitation and Wastewater Management System: Learning from the Japanese Experience.

Transcript: adbi.me/45dhYVm

How Japan’s sanitation and wastewater management breakthroughs can be applied to developing Asia

In this episode of Asia’s Developing Future, Keio University professor Sayuri Shirai, a former Bank of Japan Policy Board member and ADBI visiting fellow, explains the role of central banks in promoting green central banking and climate-related monetary policies in developing Asia.

She stresses the importance of improving awareness of financial institutions, conducting climate scenario analysis, and implementing standardized climate-related disclosures to draw more direct investment to emerging economies in Asia.

Script: adbi.me/3RlxOJa

How to promote green central banking and climate-related monetary policy in developing Asia

By 2050, the global number of persons above 65 years old will double to over 1.5 billion, according to the United Nations, and Asia will continue to have the largest share of the world’s aged population.

In this podcast, Waseda University Associate Professor, Upalat Korwatanasakul provides an overview of demographic transition and its effects on fiscal balance in Asia. He also examines ways to enhance fiscal space against pension as well as how fiscal sustainability can be achieved in economies at varying demographic stages.

Script: adbi.me/3FTV1LJ

Demographic Transition and Fiscal Sustainability in Asia and the Pacific

Almost two million households across Central Asia suffer from energy poverty according to the World Bank. The challenges are to maintain and provide infrastructure in rural parts of the region and explore new energy models for social inclusion and just transition.

In this podcast, ADBI Senior Research Fellow Dina Azhgaliyeva, Zhanna Kapsalyamova from Nazarbayev University, and Anna Arkhangelskaya from the Institute of Energy under the Kyrgyz Technical University explain socio-economic disparity that energy-poor households face and discuss policy options to replace inefficient fossil fuel subsidies while minimizing the impact of energy prices on vulnerable households.

Script: adbi.me/46zOLU9

How to tackle energy poverty for a just transition in Central Asia

Women entrepreneurs make a significant contribution to the Indian economy. However, access to formal finance is a crucial barrier to the growth of women-owned businesses. 

In this podcast, Renana Jhabvala, the President of SEWA, the Self-Employed Women’s Association, will explain the policy tool that the Indian government has been implementing to formalize women’s economic participation and her experience with SEWA in utilizing bridge institutions to connect women entrepreneurs and formal banking sector.

Transcript: adbi.me/3vHsHdB

How to close the finance gap for women entrepreneurs in India

Local communities in Japan are taking sustainable energy into their own hands, with small investors backing wind and solar projects instead of waiting for the government to act. Hometown investment trust funds are using the Internet to tap local investors for 100 dollars to 5,000 dollars to fund projects where they live.

Banks are reluctant to finance renewable energy projects, deeming them too risky. Alternative financing vehicles are supporting growth in risky sectors in Asia. Hometown investment trust funds have spread from Japan to Cambodia, Mongolia, Peru, and Viet Nam, and are also attracting attention from the government of Thailand and Malaysia’s central bank.

Read the transcript
http://bit.ly/2xa9H3Z

Read the blog post
https://www.asiapathways-adbi.org/2017/04/hometown-investment-trust-funds-a-sustainable-solution-for-financing-green-energy-projects/

Authors
Naoyuki Yoshino, dean, ADBI
https://www.adb.org/adbi/about/dean   

Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary, assistant economics professor at Keio University, Tokyo
https://www.asiapathways-adbi.org/author/farhad-taghizadeh-hesary/  

Know more about ADBI’s work on hometown investment trust funds
http://bit.ly/2vO13J0

Grassroots funding boosts green energy projects in Japan

Muhammad Yunus believes the world must look again at what banks should be—and what they should do. The Bangladeshi Nobel laureate and founder of Grameen Bank also wants to upend our thinking about jobs and entrepreneurship. He sent a video message to the Global Think Tank Summit held in Yokohama in May, and organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute and the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, University of Pennsylvania. He spoke about the microcredit institution he founded some 40 years ago. He started Grameen after seeing the life-changing effects of lending his own money to poor villagers near his university at Chittagong.

Read the transcript:
http://bit.ly/2vCOtzz

Watch the full presentation: 
http://bit.ly/2wWTH9l

Asia's Developing Future

“Everyone is born an entrepreneur.” M. Yunus, Grameen Bank, Nobel laureate

Small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of Asia’s economies.

The Asian Development Bank’s most recent SME survey covered 20 countries in Central, East, South, Southeast Asia, and the Paciﬁc and showed that SMEs accounted for an average of 96% of all enterprises and 62% of the national labor force.

SMEs contributed an average of 42% of the gross domestic product or manufacturing value added in these countries, and continued to inﬂuence trade. 

The latest data show that SMEs in the People’s Republic of China and India accounted for more than 40% of total export value, followed by 26% in Thailand, 19% in the Republic of Korea, and 16% in Indonesia. 

Yet their development is hindered because of the difficulty accessing affordable credit.  

Read the transcript
http://bit.ly/2CbsUEl

Read the working paper
https://www.adb.org/publications/solutions-smes-difficulties-accessing-finance-asian-experiences

About the authors
Naoyuki Yoshino is dean of ADBI

Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary is an assistant professor of economics at Keio University, Tokyo

Know more about ADBI’s work on SMEs
http://bit.ly/2ElPHnb
http://bit.ly/2CdtNwf

Related Podcast
http://bit.ly/2H6cRLR
http://bit.ly/2tZS4mU

SMEs in Asia need easier access to credit

Viet Nam has made ambitious commitments to combat climate change under the Paris Agreement, but only by making massive changes will it be able to live up to those plans.

Viet Nam’s carbon intensity—or the use of carbon in its economy—is currently the second highest in Asia. The growth in the amount of greenhouse gasses it produces is among the fastest in the world.

Rather than demonstrating a clear program to switch to alternative energy sources, the government plans an even greater reliance on fossil fuels to maintain the country’s impressive growth rate.

Read the transcript
https://bit.ly/2ItEKRZ

Read the working paper
https://bit.ly/2VVdWx1

About the authors
Trong Co Nguyen is a director at Viet Nam’s Academy of Finance in the Ministry of Finance.
Anh Tu Chuc is an associate professor at the Academy of Finance in the Ministry of Finance.
Le Ngoc Dang is a faculty member of the International Finance Department at the Academy, which is based in Ha Noi.

Know more about ADBI’s work
https://bit.ly/2IFRcgQ
https://bit.ly/2MbErO1

Viet Nam needs major changes to meet its renewable energy goals

The novel coronavirus is affecting transportation connectivity worldwide. In this podcast, ADBI’s KE Seetha Ram and Shreyas Bharule, co-editors of the new Handbook on High-Speed Rail and Quality of Life, discuss the sector’s development prospects and socioeconomic effects in the fast-changing and uncertain environment.

Read the transcript
https://bit.ly/33oHtDI

ADBI’s related publications
Handbook on High-Speed Rail and Quality of Life
https://bit.ly/38V5Uda

High-Speed Rail Services in Asia
https://bit.ly/2UcXNDt

How will the novel coronavirus impact the trajectory of Asian high-speed rail?

ADBI is the think tank of the Asian Development Bank. We conduct policy research and capacity building to drive sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.

Asia's Developing Future

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