11AbstractTheAsia-PacificregionhasdemonstratedconsiderableprogresstowardachievingtheSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs),particularlyinareassuchasaccesstoenergyandindustrialproduction.However,challengesremainintheadoptionofcleanenergy,employment,andinnovation,whichhindertheregion’spathtowardfullyrealizingitsSDGtargets.ThedynamicanddiverselandscapeofAsia-Pacificrequirestailoredapproachestobridgethesegaps,withmodernindustrialpoliciesplayingakeyroleindrivingprogress.ThispolicybriefhighlightshowAsia-Pacificcountriescanleverageopportunitiesingreenenergy,digitalization,regionalintegration,anddemographicchangestoaccelerateprogresstowardachievingSDG7,8,and9.Itemphasizestheimportanceoftargetedinvestmentsinrenewableenergytechnology,digitalinfrastructure,andskilldevelopmenttoovercomecurrentchallengesandunlocksustainableindustrialgrowth.Drawingonspecificcasestudiesfromtheregion,thebriefunderscorestheimportanceofstrategicindustrialpolicyinterventions,stakeholdercollaboration,andaflexible,adaptiveapproachtoglobalandregionalshifts.Byaddressingthesecriticalareas,Asia-Pacificcansolidifyitsroleasaglobalindustrialleaderwhilefosteringinclusiveandsustainableeconomicgrowthforthefuture.1POLICYBRIEFSERIES:INSIGHTSONINDUSTRIALDEVELOPMENTTheneweraofindustrialpolicyinAsia-Pacific:fromSDGassessmenttopolicysolutionsAshrafMishrifSultanQaboosUniversityRajahRasiahUniversityofMalayaCarolinaDonnelly&NobuyaHaraguchiUNIDOISSUENO.14-OCTOBER20242TheneweraofindustrialpolicyinAsia-Pacific:fromSDGassessmenttopolicysolutionsINSIGHTSONINDUSTRIALDEVELOPMENT2HowfarisAsia-Pacificfromachievingindustry-relatedSDGs?KeyMessages1.Asia-PacificshowssignificantprogresstowardsachievingSDGstargetsinaccesstoenergyandindustrybutfaceschallengesintheadoptionofcleanenergy,employment,andinnovation.2.Theregion'sdiverselandscaperequirestailoredapproachestobridgethesegapsandaccelerateprogresstowardsachievingSDG7,8,and9.3.Targetedinvestmentsingreentechnologies,digitalinfrastructure,andskilldevelopmentarekeytoovercomingchallengesandtappingintoopportunitiesforsustainablegrowth.Recentresearchrevealsthatindustrialdevel-opmentisfundamentaltoachievingthe2030AgendaforSustainableDevelopment,particu-larlythroughitsimpactsongreenmanufactur-ing,jobcreation,andinnovation(SDGs7,8,and9).2UNIDO’srecentlypublishedIndustrialDevel-opmentReport2024assessesprogresstowardstheseSDGsin177developingcountriesandfourdevelopingregions.TheassessmentrevealsadiverselandscapeofprogressintheAsia-Pacificregion,3withbothnotableachievementsandsomechallengesacrosskeyareas(seeFigure1).4ForSDG7,theregionalperformancesignalssig-nificantadvancementsinenergyaccessandeffi-ciency.CountriesinAsia-Pacifichaveachievedanimpressive98percentoftheenergyaccesstar-get,surpassingthedevelopingworld’saverage.Energyefficiencyremainshigh,with73percentoftheSDGtargetmet,reflectingrobustenergyinfra-structure.However,theadoptionofcleanenergyintheregionlagsbehind,withlessthan50percentoftheSDGtargetachieved.Thishighlightsagapthatrequiresfocusedinvestmentinrenew-ableenergyresourcestoaccelerateprogress.SDG8presentsamixedpicture.Economicgrowthintheregionhasbeenrobust,reflectingtheregionasarisingglobaleconomicpower.Asia-Pacificachieved61percentoftheSDGtar-getandsurpassedthedevelopingworldaver-ageby9points.However,employmentremainsaconcernintheregion,whichhasonlymet43percentoftheSDGtargetandisbelowthe...
