Climate-induced disasters in Asia and the Pacific have become increasingly frequent and severe, resulting in loss of lives and livelihoods, hampering the post-pandemic recovery and potentially derailing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The effects of devastating floods, severe droughts and rising sea levels are not confined within national borders; they have international implications too, including for trade, communal tensions and forced migration. Climate change is only making things worse.  

Against this backdrop, Vibhu Mishra from UN News spoke to Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), who outlined how countries can reduce disaster risk, and strengthen climate action.