Bangkok, Mar 23 (IANS): The progress towards achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the Asia-Pacific is lagging and requires doubling the efforts to catch up, said a UN report launched here on Wednesday.

The region has only achieved 14.4 per cent of the progress required, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) warned in its latest report, adding that at the current pace, the region will take another 42 years to reach all goals.

The 17 SDGs were adopted by the UN in 2015 as part of its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Xinhua news agency reported.

Despite the challenges, the report acknowledged that some progress has been made such as affordable and clean energy (Goal 7) and industry, innovation and infrastructure (Goal 9), due in part to advancements in access to electricity and international support for renewable energy and infrastructure development in underdeveloped nations.

However, it highlighted that the progress towards climate action (Goal 13) continues to regress and must be prioritised to reverse the negative trend. The report calls for collective efforts in the region to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The report pointed out that there are data gaps in certain goals, with less than 30 per cent sufficient data available.

ESCAP Executive Secretary Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana stressed the need for relevant, timely, granular, high-quality information to monitor and review the progress towards the SDGs.