Asia and the Pacific

people standing in front of a solar panel

Where we work

Asia and the Pacific

Our Impact

90+%

of people in the region have access to electricity: 92% in Oceania, 95% in Central Asia and Southern Asia and 98% in Eastern Asia and South-eastern Asia.

60%

of the worldwide population without access to clean cooking lives in Asia and the Pacific. That represents about 1.5 billion people.

53%

of global greenhouse gas emissions come from Asia and the Pacific region.

85%

of the world's planned or under construction coal-fired plants are in Asia and the Pacific.

Our focus

Given the diversity of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, UNDP’s work in the region is covering a wide range of topics related to sustainable energy, including:

Small-scale renewable energy generation projects: solar, bioenergy, wind
Energy efficiency programs in industry and building, low carbon development strategies
Sustainable urban development, sustainable transport, and electric mobility
Exploring coal phase-out strategies with governments

Specific challenges in the region consist of low energy prices as well as absent regulatory practices. To address these barriers, UNDP supports the development of policies and regulations that create the necessary enabling environments for private sector investments to invest in renewable energy, energy efficiency or other low carbon solutions.

Featured projects

Solar mini-grids in Afghanistan

This innovative solar mini-grids project, funded by the Green Climate Fund, aims to lay the foundations for Afghanistan’s mini-grids market, with the objective of helping the country to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions while tackling rural energy poverty and supporting a green recovery amid the COVID-19 crisis.

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Transforming Indonesia's Energy Market

Funded by the Global Environment Fund, this project supports the design and implementation of appropriate climate change mitigation actions in the energy generation and energy end use sectors.

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Where we work