Foreword

As Australia, Asia and the world is fighting the worst pandemic in over 100 years, we can’t afford to lose sight of the Sustainable Development Goals. COVID-19 has demonstrated that social and economic development is unsustainable if it increases vulnerability to the kind of humanitarian and financial crisis we are currently going through.

This year, at the dawn of a new decade and with only 10 years to deliver the 2030 Agenda, we must ask: is Asia’s rise environmentally, economically and socially sustainable?

We are privileged to announce Disruptive Asia Volume 4 – Sustainability of the Asian Century.

The recent social and economic gains from Asia’s growth are unprecedented. It is one of the great success story of the 21st century, and increasingly the world will look to Asia for global leadership, inspiration and innovation.

But as Asia’s rise accelerates and the deadline to meet the SDGs is edging closer, we need to better understand its impact on our society, our environment and our economy. Is Asia’s growth on a sustainable path? How is Australia positioned to both inform and respond to a sustainable growth trajectory in the region? And how will sustainability fare as the region seeks to recover from COVID-19?

We will bring you some of the best minds from Australia and the region to answer these and other key questions. We will focus on critical sectors and areas of our relationship with Asia where sustainability is driving disruption and change.

Edited by Greg Earl, it aims to provide contextual, practical and implementable ideas and policy options that inform and enrich the public debate. This year we also present regular interactive public webinars, where authors and experts will dissect the issues that matter.

We are also proud to announce that this year Disruptive Asia is supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.

We hope you will find Volume 4 engaging and relevant.

Thomas Soem
Executive Director
Asia Society Australia