Governments around the world have introduced a variety of programs aimed at facilitating distance learning in the home setting during school closures due to COVID-19. However, given the cross-country variations in state capacity, these programs differ significantly in terms of design, delivery,...

Our paper analyzes the causal impact of access to mass media on the adoption of clean cooking fuel in rural India. Using the 78th round of the National Sample Survey of India, we find that overall access to mass media increases the probability of using clean cooking fuel by 32 percentage points...

Cooling is an important area for which there is a rapidly increasing demand, but it accounts for a sizeable portion of electricity consumption and generates negative environmental externalities. Technological change directed towards environmental sustainability is essential for cooling to play a...

Water shortage is one of the major environmental challenges in emerging Asian economies such as India and the People's Republic of China (PRC), presenting significant threats to livelihood and food security in coming decades. The growing population, increasing demand for food, rapid...

Since its onset in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has globally disrupted school operations, leading to a shift to some form of homeschooling arrangements. After two years, in March 2022, the government of Malaysia officially reopened all schools, ending its homeschooling program. This relatively...

As a global leader in renewable energy, India is transitioning from fossil fuel-based hydrogen to green hydrogen, driven by technological advancements, cost reductions, and supportive policies. Initiatives like the National Green Hydrogen Mission and Green Hydrogen Policy aim to establish India...

The diversity of plant genetic resources (PGR) from which the world’s food crops are derived is steadily declining, due in part to the reliance of modern agriculture on a limited number of improved varieties. This erosion of genetic variation can lead to increased vulnerability to plant pests...

This paper provides estimates of the costs of organic agriculture (OA) programs, and sets them in the context of the costs of attaining the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It analyzes the costs of OA programs in four case studies: Wanzai, PRC; Wuyuan, PRC; Kandy, Sri Lanka; and...

This paper reviews selected initiatives taken by Asian countries to comply with emerging global sustainability standards, reporting, and management systems, and tracks the response of Asian businesses to global environmental concerns, examines market based innovations including new regulations...

There is an urgent need to mainstream the key challenges of climate change into sector and development planning and decision making processes to create sustainable long-term development. Mainstreaming is seen as making more efficient and effective use of financial and human resources. It is...