Trade and investment play an outsized role in the economic development story of the Asia and Pacific region, but it has come with environmental costs. Asia and the Pacific is in the frontline of climate change and is responsible for around half of global annual carbon dioxide emissions and is currently experiencing the highest temperatures in the last 3 decades. The theme chapter of the Asian Economic Integration Report 2023 seeks to better understand how trade and investment contribute to climate change, and how trade and investment policies can be part of the climate action.
