The new United States tariffs released on 2 April 2025 have come as a surprise to Governments around the world. The scope and scale of the tariffs announced are higher than many expected, especially those imposed on some of the smallest and least developed countries. The global average of these new tariffs stands at about 19 per cent, with a minimum “baseline” tariff of 10 per cent on all goods, with several countries in Asia and the Pacific subjected to tariffs of 30 per cent or more. These differential tariffs come on top of existing MFN tariffs, making the new tariff structure complex and its impact difficult to assess.The table below shows some of the countries in Asia and the Pacific most directly affected by this new policy. Countries most exposed are those that (1) Face higher new US tariffs relative to others; (2) have significant direct exports to the USA; and/or (3) are significantly involved in global value chains (GVCs) of goods destined to the US market. Countries are ranked by the share of their exports going directly to the USA. Based on the first two criteria, Fiji, Cambodia, Viet Nam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China are the most exposed. Lao PDR and Myanmar are also subject to additional tariffs of 45 per cent or more, but their direct exports to the US are small (below 4 per cent). Further analysis is required to account for the GVC as well as other relevant criteria, including types of products exported, existing products and extent of market diversification. While large countries have the capacity to undertake the detailed analyses required to inform policy decisions in a fast-evolving trade policy environment, smaller developing countries often face a critical shortage of human and financial resources. Tools such as the online Trade Intelligence and Negotiation Adviser (TINA) can, however, help address this gap. TINA, which was developed by ESCAP – and now with ECA - to support countries with bilateral trade negotiations, is a readily available tool that countries can use to analyse the impact of the recent tariff hikes on their trade flows.Using the TINA tariff simulator, we have assessed the exposure of Asia Pacific economies to the new 2 April US tariffs at the product level (HS6 level). Many of the countries in the table above could lose over 72 per cent - and up to 94 per cent - of their direct exports to the US. Detailed results are available here. Users can use the simulator to conduct quick assessments of new tariffs (including retaliatory ones) on trade and identify the most affected sectors.We are also pilot testing a national TINA in Cambodia and increasingly leveraging AI to make the tool accessible to a wider range of users. Cambodia TINA provides further insights by looking at third-party impacts (i.e., the impact of tariffs on Viet Nam) as well as the effects of different trade policy scenarios using input/output tables. This analysis, for example, shows that tariffs imposed by the United States could reduce Cambodia’s output by as much as 13 per cent. Combining this with labour data shows that more than 400,000 Cambodian workers may lose their jobs if the new tariffs are implemented, with more than 70 per cent of them female (textiles sector being traditionally female dominated, is particularly heavily impacted, with output falling by 45 per cent). Forthcoming analysis using ESCAP’s RIVA (Regional Integration and Value Chain Analyzer) will provide an understanding of the pass-through tariff exposure, where countries are indirectly affected due to regional production networks. Preliminary findings suggest that both advanced and developing countries in the region which are more integrated into global and regional value chains, will experience significant pass-through effects.As countries consider policy actions to respond to this dynamic trade environment, keeping channels of communications open between countries and with the private sector will remain essential. Pending a more stable trade policy environment, countries may strive to accelerate their trade digitalization efforts, taking advantage of the UN treaty on cross-border paperless trade facilitation in Asia and the Pacific to cut trade costs. They may also focus on expanding trade in services, including travel and digitally delivered services, which have so far been left out of trade tensions. They may consider strategic diversification of their trade baskets and destination markets and enter into new trade and investment agreements which help them mitigate the adverse impacts and leverage new opportunities.

Dogs bring many benefits to our society but, if not properly managed, they can be detrimental for humans, livestock and wildlife. We highlight the increasing problems associated with free-ranging dogs using examples from two regions of the world where this issue is pervasive, India and South America. In these regions, free-ranging dogs spread diseases, injure people, harm biodiversity, and negatively impact human livelihoods. We discuss why mitigating these deleterious effects can be extremely complicated because there are diverse challenges such as: (a) a lack of or inappropriate legislations concerning free-ranging dog management and human–dog interactions, (b) unregulated intentional and unintentional feeding of free-ranging dogs, (c) limitations of animal shelters, (d) non-responsible ownership, and (e) uncontrolled dog populations. As the management of animal species is usually shaped by differing interests, existing policies and regulations, views and social influence of stakeholders, power asymmetries between interested parties is yet another challenge in this regard. We need evidence-based legislations and strong institutions (e.g., public health and conservation institutions) that are capable of implementing governance principles and managing the complexities of this socio-ecological system by taking science-based decisions, and balancing power asymmetries to promote consensus.

At the Seminar 6 on "Regional knowledge sharing and identification of opportunities for enhanced reduction of Marine Plastics Debris" held during the ASEAN-Japan Environment Week during August 22-24, 2023, Hotta made a keynote presentation to provide discussion points for the following panel discussions. This seminar was orgnaized with the following background and purposes. East and Southeast Asian regions are recognised as the biggest contributors to marine plastic pollution due to rapid economic growth, unsustainable production and consumption patterns, and the lack of appropriate waste management infrastructure.ASEAN member states are also taking initiatives through regional and national policy responses including launching of ASEAN Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris (2021-2025) and development of national action plans in respective countries.With an ongoing process for developing an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution through Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) in mind, this event aims to (1) share the progress made thus far in the region in its combat against marine plastic debris, (2) formulate a regional input to the INC process, and (3) explore the areas of future ASEAN-Japan collaboration at this commemorative year of ASEAN-Japan relations.

In recent times, environmental stewardship of mangroves has provided the impetus to protect and restore these ecosystems for their inherent ability to protect coastal regions from climate change, sequester carbon dioxide as rich blue carbon, and support human well-being through a multitude of ecosystem services. Participatory stakeholder assessment, as a part of the present study, integrated local stakeholder perspectives in assessing drivers of mangrove loss in Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi delta, Odisha, providing empirical evidence through a mixed-method approach. The use of a Likert scale provided the methodology to develop a single composite variable as the best measure of central tendency. In total, 27.5% of the respondents were locals and were living close to the study area for generations, whereas the other 72.5% represented researchers, academics, and forest department officials. Stakeholder responses at the ground level indicated that Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi delta were facing increased frequency of extreme climatic events followed, by aquaculture and other land-use changes, which can be considered potential drivers causing mangrove loss. Co-development of future scenarios by integrating concerns of all the stakeholders emerged as a potential solution to effectively address the trade-offs arising from local anthropogenic interferences, as well as large-scale developmental activities. This study highlights the need for convergence of multi-disciplinary knowledge from diverse stakeholder groups, including traditional and indigenous knowledge, for the purpose of developing accurate plausible alternative scenarios. Interactive governance and incentivization approaches, along with alternative livelihood opportunities, are proposed as the means to improve conservation and restoration in the region based on the present study. Understanding of the coupled socio-ecological system and its relevance is found to be critical to improve bi-directional linkages of ecosystem health and human well-being.

This study aims to contribute to the further development of the Member States' reporting to the EU with regard to the National Energy and Climate Change Plans (NECPs), especially with regard to the national progress reports, the NECP updates and a possible revision of the Governance Regulation. The study was designed as a meta-analysis of the current state of knowledge regarding the methodology and impact of selected policies and measures (PaMs), following its appropriate preparation, by means of an analytical framework. The analysis was based on the example of the German NECP, taking into account the NECPs of Denmark, France, Sweden and Slovenia. In total, the authors examined a selection of 23 PaMs as well as ex-ante and ex-post evaluations that analysed the PaMs' impacts. The authors investigated, in particular, the methodology of ex-ante and ex-post evaluations, the contribution of selected PaMs to achieve the EU's climate protection and the energy transition targets adopted for 2030 as well as the socio-economic and further ecological impacts associated with the PaMs. On this basis, the authors developed an in-depth understanding of the selected PaMs and the methodological and systemic uncertainties involved in their ex-ante and ex-post impact assessment. For this purpose, the authors discussed knowledge gaps, uncertainties, conflicts and synergies as well as political challenges, opportunities for action and obstacles to it. As a result, the authors have developed suggestions regarding the content requirements of NECP reporting, as well as suggestions that can improve the transparency and traceability of evaluation methods and impact assessments of PaMs.

The global demand for plastic is expected to double in the next 20 years. The increasing demand for Single-Use Plastic Products (SUPPs) has become one of the main environmental problems in many developing countries, including Sri Lanka, through direct and indirect means, in the way of excessive consumption and the pollution of the environment through waste generation. In this way, there is a pressing need to accelerate the sustainability evaluation, comparison, impact mitigation, and policy recommendation of SUPPs to address environmental impacts and sustainable development. Therefore, this study aims to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of SUPPs for policy decision-making in Sri Lanka using life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques. Accordingly, the most popular and widely used single-use plastic products, which are under consideration for regulation in Sri Lanka, and their possible alternatives, are considered for this LCA study. The results reveal that SUPPs produced using polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) have a significant contribution in all life cycle stages, in terms of global warming potential (GWP) and endpoint impact categories. However, the outcomes of the study reveal that the net GWP impact of SUPPs that have recycling practices at the end of life shows better performance compared to incineration and landfill. In addition, the polylactic acid- (PLA)-based products also show a significant impact on mid- and end-point GWP impact categories. Remarkably, the midpoint analysis of PLA-based products and their alternatives emphasized that PLA production was the most impactful for most of the midpoint impact categories due to PLA resin production, which contributes significantly to all impact categories. In particular, for the pesticide bottles with the preferred end-of-life option of incineration, the HDPE indicates a 7.6% lower GWP compared to PET. For reusable steel cutlery, the largest GWP-associated life cycle stage is the user phase (97.5%), which includes cleaning the cutlery. However, the overall reduction in GWP in the use of steel, considering the best (PS with recycling) and worst (PS with incineration) case scenarios, with single-use items are 0.01 and 0.05 kg CO2 (eq), respectively. In the case of pesticide bottles, with the preferred end-of-life option being incineration, the HDPE indicates a 7.6% lower GWP compared to PET. the study reveals that conducting LCA will facilitate scientific decision-making for policy interventions related to SUPPs and their processes. Notably, the study shows that, at present, the capability of conducting LCA studies to evaluate the sustainability performance of SUPPs in Sri Lanka is limited due to the lack of life cycle inventory (LCI) data availability on SUPPs and relevant waste management practices in Sri Lanka.

This article describes an upcoming Systemic Map Protocol on the evidence of the effects of public policy interventions to achieve sustainable food consumption

Microplastics (MPs) have been identified as an emerging soil pollutant and a global environmental concern. Scientists have recently paid attention to the contamination of soil by MPs as their detrimental impacts on soil systems are largely unknown. MPs are considered to be vectors for other soil contaminants, such as potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and organic contaminants. PTEs are persistent contaminants and are often released into soils in large quantities. MPs adsorb PTEs, mainly via electrostatic attraction and surface complexation, and increase their mobility in soils. These complexes can be easily absorbed by plants; hence, the accumulation of PTEs in plants can be enhanced in both microplastic and PTE-contaminated soils. Furthermore, there is a high risk of food chains contamination by PTEs due to crops grown in both microplastic and PTE-contaminated soils. Consequently, countermeasures including policy- and governance-based approaches that target circular economy as well as reduce, reuse, recycle (3R) applications are being discussed around the world to minimize the environmental contamination of MPs.

Ensuring sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns in the Asia region is a high-priority policy issue but challenged by a number of obstacles and the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. This article argues that not only conventional policy approaches but also alternative approaches are needed in Asia to decouple socio-economic development and increases in environmental loads from people’s sense of well-being. To achieve human and planetary well-being under the situation of compressed development, four strategic courses of SCP policy are presented. These four courses are SCP policy expansion, enhanced linkage of consumption and production (CP), system transition and bottom-up approaches. Policy makers in Asia should keep these courses of action in mind and utilize opportunities, 13 of which are outlined here, to mainstream SCP. The 13 SCP opportunities, the key words of which include among others experience, genuine wealth, local design, digitalization, infrastructure, indigenous wisdom, collaboration and challenges, indicate entry points for Asian SCP policy development in the 2020s. Finally, based on these, the authors have devised an SCP case matrix and produced 43 example SCP cases for better application of the suggested SCP policy approach in the Asian region.

The number of scientific climate advisory bodies is growing rapidly across European countries, including the establishment of one at the EU-level. Under the right conditions, such expert councils can help governments not only make the right climate policy decisions but also hold them accountable by boosting transparency and tracking the success (or failures) of national actions. Governments across Europe have their own specific systems for climate policy-making. Some are laid down in law with significant detail on procedures, institutional arrangements and mechanisms for both monitoring and outside input. Dedicated national advisory bodies, especially in the form of independent scientific climate councils, are both a sign of and an important enabler for more robust climate governance. They tend to operate in highly formalized and specific governance systems, but also require regular and specific governance mechanisms in order to function effectively. Download full report | EEA summary briefing An analysis of these institutions and their underlying governance contexts suggests that the effectiveness of any advisory body depends strongly on the quality of the system it is working in. In addition, a detailed look at scientific expert councils revealed that their composition, their mandate and the resources they have available all influence the extent to which they can inform policy-making. This report by Ecologic Institute and IDDRI, commissioned by the European Environment Agency (EEA), provides a comprehensive mapping of climate advisory bodies in European countries and the national governance systems in which they operate. It proposes a typology to account for the diversity of advisory bodies and a three-tiered frame by which to evaluate national climate policy-making systems. The research was based on an in-depth investigation of national policy documents and structured interviews with country experts. Key insights: National climate policy systems in Europe differ in terms of their degree of formality, specificity and accountability. The analysis identified three main tiers into which existing systems fall. The first tier countries only include essential elements required by EU or international law ('EU/UN Baseline'); while the second and third tier countries have additional functionality specific to national policy cycles, increasing the windows of opportunity for expert and stakeholder involvement ('light framework' and 'robust framework'). Increasingly, European countries have turned to national framework laws to organize climate actions, often establishing supporting advisory institutions. In total, the research found 57 advisory bodies operating in 27 European countries. These can be categorized based on their composition and degree of autonomy into four different groups: (1) 'independent, scientific councils', (2) 'in-house scientific advisory bodies', (3) 'stakeholder engagement platforms' and (4) 'stakeholder and/or inter-ministerial roundtables'. Ten countries have established independent scientific councils dedicated specifically to climate (i.e., Type 1a advisory bodies). Each council's ability to influence policy formulation is a function of their mandate (specific responsibilities and windows to be involved) and the capacity they are given (through staff and means to create visibility). Without a clear and visible role and proper resources, impact is low. Despite capacity and contextual limitations, they play a unique role, exercising a combination of watchdog, reliable information provider and convener/stakeholder outreach functions. Experience from across Europe suggests that they can be positioned to enhance the accountability of a national governance system. A preliminary version of the report was used as input for a two-day virtual workshop with representatives of national climate advisory bodies that took place on 12 and 19 November 2020. Workshop participants were invited to comment on the ongoing research and the virtual discussions provided invaluable insight into how advisory bodies operate on the ground to influence national policy-making. Most importantly, the dialogue uncovered an appetite for further exchange and the need for coordinated and cross-boundary solutions to unlock effective solutions for the transition to a climate neutral Europe. more...3 / 3Figure: Development of national climate advisory bodies in Europe 2000-2020 Ecologic Institute 20211 / 3Map: Three 'tiers' of climate governance in Europe EEA / Ecologic Institute 20212 / 3Map: Landscape of climate change advisory bodies in Europe EEA / Ecologic Institute 2021

Changing clinical practice is hard, and changing practices within larger organizations is even harder. Increasingly, policymakers are looking to implementation science—the study of why some changes prove more durable than others—to understand the dynamics of successful transformation. In this brief, we summarize the results of an ongoing community-academicpartnership to increase the uptake of evidence-based practices in Philadelphia’s public behavioral health care system. Over five years, researchers found that widescale initiatives did successfully change the way care was delivered, albeit modestly and slowly. The evidence suggests that organizational factors, such as a proficient work culture, are more important than individual therapist factors, like openness in change, in influencing successful practice change. Furthermore, organizations must address staff turnover and burnout, and employees must feel supported in general in order for managers to expect them to change. In short, while practice transformation is possible—even in highly stressed and under-resourced public health settings—it requires focusing on underlying problems within organizations as well as championing new policies.

The paper discusses how qualitative evidence synthesis methods developed in other fields could be applied to evidence on environmental management and policy.

Protocol on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of conditional cash transfers in facilitating health visits and promoting maternal and child health.

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall strategy to help people to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change and promote sustainable development. This report presents the results of using our Framework for Assessing EbA Effectiveness at the Adaptation, Vulnerability and Ecosystems (AVE) project, Costa Rica and Panama. The findings will be combined with those from 12 other sites in 11 other countries to help show climate change policymakers when and why EbA is effective.

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall strategy to help people to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change and promote sustainable development. This report presents the results of using our Framework for Assessing EbA Effectiveness at the Mountain EbA Project, Peru. The findings will be combined with those from 12 other sites in 11 other countries to help show climate change policymakers when and why EbA is effective.