The Circular Economy is an emerging theme internationally. A Circular Economy is a systemic approach to decouple economic development and activity from consuming finite resources. A Circular Economy will allow ADB to tackle global environmental challenges including climate change, resource management, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution while supporting economic development and reducing poverty.

Economies in Asia and the Pacific are increasingly committing to the goal of carbon neutrality, in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change and outcomes of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26).

Cohosted by the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), East Asia Forum 2022 explored the next steps for achieving decarbonization in Asia and the Pacific, drawing upon lessons from East Asia.  

On World Water Day, 22 March 2022, ADB hosted a webinar on “Digitalizing Water: The Visible and Invisible.” In line with the global day’s groundwater theme, the event focused on digital tools and how technology can help manage both groundwater and surface water.  

Digital financial services (DFS) are financial transactions, including banking, insurance, and payment services that can be accessed via digital channels. ADB DMCs can make significant progress in applying DFS to health programs, supporting progress to universal health coverage.

The webinar series, "Digitalization and Credit Scoring for Women SMEs," aimed to provide practical knowledge on gender, alternative data, and insights on credit scoring for financial institutions, with discussants Dean Caire, a credit scoring specialist, and Steven Landman, a fintech expert. The first installment in December 2021 explored the basics of credit scoring, while the second in January tackled the technical challenges.

Big data offers unprecedented advantages for monitoring economic trends in real-time and assessing the socioeconomic impact of major events.

The webinar explored different types of innovative data sources and tools, and discuss how Asian economies can improve accessibility, capacity, and sustainability of big data infrastructure for analysis and policymaking.

This webinar highlighted key takeaways from the new book Harnessing Digitalization for Sustainable Economic Development: Insights for Asia, to be discussed by the coeditors and a panel of contributors to the book. The focus will be on the impact of digitalization on economic performance and trade, particularly in the region.

Richard Argall is an expert in ocean energy and marine renewables works on Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) projects for Makai Ocean Energy Division.