The larger economic choice for South Asia is therefore broader than whether to participate in carbon trading. The region can remain primarily a supplier of relatively inexpensive mitigation outcomes, or it can also develop the technology, professional capacity, financial products and verification systems that determine what those outcomes are worth.
On top of that is our own unsustainable living that is creating large-scale havoc on the planet. They include construction of large dams, roads, and tunnels in the fragile Himalayan region. These activities together with the melting of glaciers due to global warming are bound to create worse natural disasters in the coming years.
The regional opportunity is particularly significant in electricity. Nepal and Bhutan can potentially export hydropower; India can provide the scale of demand and investment required to create a regional electricity market; Bangladesh can become an important electricity consumer; and Sri Lanka and Pakistan can expand solar and wind. Greater cross-border electricity trade could allow countries to exploit complementary renewable resources and reduce the need for expensive domestic backup capacity.
A genuinely regional approach could eventually include - besides Nepal, China and India - Bhutan and, where relevant, downstream institutions in Bangladesh. Organisations with established Himalayan expertise, particularly the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in Kathmandu, could offer scientific and institutional support.
A large group of Afghan civil society organizations inside the country and abroad have signed a petition in support of the United Nations' call for a humanitarian ceasefire, in order to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches the most vulnerable people in Afghanistan
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched a special appeal to religious leaders of all faiths to join forces to work for peace around the world and focus on the fight against COVID-19
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wants governments to consider the plight of prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls on the government of Afghanistan and Taliban to observe a cease-fire at a time that the coronavirus is spreading in the country
While India is fighting to stop the spread of Covid-19, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michele Bachelet, on Thursday criticised the quarantine measures put in place in the country, saying they stigmatise people
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the COVID-19 pandemic is the most challenging crisis since the Second World War as it represents a threat to everybody
An Indian who is an assistant secretary-general dealing with the UN pension fund investments resigned for “personal and family reasons,” a spokesperson said on Monday
The UN has expressed concerns over the release of a convicted Sri Lankan soldier, who was sentenced in 2015 for the murder of eight civilians after more than a decade long trial, a media report said
Asylum rights must be respected for Sikhs and Hindus who may be fleeing religious persecution in Afghanistan where a gurdwara was bombed this week killing at least 25 people, according to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric
The world organisation welcomes India's efforts to fight the coronavirus epidemic and is ready to serve those hardest hit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has launched a $2-billion global humanitarian response plan to fight COVID-19 in some of the world's most vulnerable countries
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked the Group of 20 (G20), the largest economies of the world, to assume leadership in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic
Ahead of a virtual meeting of the leaders of the G20, UN General-Secretary Antonio Guterres has appealed to them to adopt a multi-trillion-dollar "war-time" plan to fight the coronavirus pandemic
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for putting an end to capital punishment after he received news of four simultaneous hangings in India
An International Women's Day programme organised by India at the UN has been cancelled as world organisations curtail meetings to protect against the COVID-19 threat.
