A clean, efficient, and effective transport system is critical to economic growth and to the health and welfare of inhabitants of fast- growing urban areas. Following the Paris Climate Agreement in December 2015, a long-term political signal was sent to decarbonize the transport sector.

Cooling homes, offices and cities sustainably and affordably is one of the biggest challenges facing Asia, as its population aspires to more comfortable living and working conditions. Demand for space cooling is growing fast and will this will result in a significant increase in global energy consumption (and greenhouse gas emissions) unless effective policies and efficient technologies are adopted quickly and efficiently.

Air pollution a significant environmental risk, and the World Health Organization estimates that outdoor air pollution causes about 3 million premature deaths a year worldwide. Energy efficiency measures targeting outdoor and indoor air quality can have major positive impacts on global health; yet there are very few examples of air quality policies in the Asia region that rely on energy efficiency to deliver pollutant reductions.

The commercial and industrial sectors in emerging economies present significant energy-savings opportunities both through energy efficiency improvements and advanced technology applications. The multilateral development banks have made significant commitments to invest in climate financing, and ADB, for example, has committed to double its annual climate financing to $6 billion by 2020. Out of the $6 billion, $4 billion will be dedicated to mitigation through scaling up support for renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, and building smart cities.