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South Asia, a sub‐region with nearly a third of the world's population living in extreme poverty and hunger, has been affected by the COVID‐19 pandemic in an unprecedented way. The pandemic has undermined the progress achieved by the subregion towards attaining sustainable development goals. This study argues that fostering environmental sustainability in the South Asian region is crucial to "Building Back Better" while taking cognisance of future climate‐related risks. With the low level of preparedness, the collapse of global supply chains, and restrictive regional integration, the individual country in the region lacks the fiscal and technical capacity to implement sustainable development goals effectively. Therefore, based on the analytical approach to regional integration, this paper explores the potential role of regional integration in ensuring environmental sustainability in South Asia. Additionally, this study illustrates how the COVID‐19 pandemic has affected several environmental aspects at the regional level, such as clean energy, disaster risk reduction, and waste management, and shows how regional cooperation can address these challenges post pandemic. While previous studies mainly focus on regional integration in the European Union, this study targets the crucial importance of regional cooperation in South Asia in achieving environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing climate vulnerability in developing countries impedes inclusive and sustainable development. The paper examines the linkages between official development assistance (ODA) and climate vulnerability while analysing the mediating role of adaptation readiness in 119 developing countries using a panel correlated standard error estimator. The study also investigates the relationship between ODA's sectoral composition and climate vulnerability. The findings reveal that ODA is positively associated with climate vulnerability across all models and regions. However, ODA disbursement according to governance readiness criteria is associated with low vulnerability. The sectoral analysis reveals that the share of social infrastructure, humanitarian, and debt assistance is more in highly vulnerable countries. In contrast, these countries receive less aid specific to production, economic infrastructure, and multi-sector, and donors commit most climate-related ODA in these sectors. Overall, findings suggest a lack of adaptation mainstreaming into ODA disbursements. Furthermore, it calls for exploiting unexplored opportunities for vulnerability reduction through ODA in those sectors where the share of ODA is high in vulnerable countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]