In terms of attaining the objectives of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Asian economies are considered as laggards, and one of the major problems faced by these economies is the issue of environmental degradation. For addressing this pertaining issue, a policy-level reorientation might be necessary. In this view, this study aims to explore the impact of urbanization, renewable energy consumption, financial development, agriculture, and economic growth on CO2 emissions in 15 Asian economies over 1990-2014. The empirical evidence demonstrates that urbanization, financial development, and economic growth increase CO2 emissions, renewable energy consumption reduces CO2 emissions, and the impact of agriculture is insignificant. Impulse response function and variance decomposition techniques are used to test the causality among the variables. Based on the study outcomes, a comprehensive SDGoriented policy framework has been recommended, so that these economies can make progression towards attaining the objectives of SDG 13 and SDG 7. This study contributed to the literature by recommending this SDG-oriented policy framework, which encapsulates economic growth and its drivers.

System devised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for Higher Education Institutions (HEI) aims to promote innovation and develop human capital. The efficiency of the system is ascertained if it could help in recruitment and retention of faculty members. Therefore, the study of faculty members' perspective on HEC’s Faculty Appointment Criteria (FAC) is needed to determine whether it motivates and facilitates them. This study reports the faculty’s perspectives on FAC. This qualitative interpretive phenomenological study gathers data using a semi-structured questionnaire for interviewing. The analysis reveals that the criteria do not cover the overall performance of faculty members and is only based upon minimum qualification, duration of service and number of publications. There is a dire need of reviewing the current appointment criteria and for that the involvement of all stakeholders is suggested to devise a profound scheme for better human resource development at HEIs of Pakistan.

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