Countries’ quest to achieve robust economic growth in a fossil fuel-dependent production paradigm has resulted in an unsustainable accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. This phenomenon threatens humankind with irreversible climatic changes in the future. Policymakers worldwide have to devise emissions-reduction plans without affecting the economic performances of countries; developing countries must reduce emissions along with meeting development goals manifested in the form of ensuring a decent quality of life.

Natural hazards are no strangers to a majority of South Asians. The region is periodically afflicted by inundated deltas, parched plains, flooded urban sprawl, severe droughts, cyclone-hit crops, and eroding beaches and riverbanks. South Asia experiences every conceivable weather-related disaster. The region is also a melting pot of poverty, wars, accidents, and other natural and man-made hazards that leave lives, homes, and livelihoods of many of its two billion people regularly at risk.