Synergy Solutions for Climate and SDG Action: Bridging the Ambition Gap for the Future We Want

Read the full report here.

Expert Report Urges Governments to Break Down Silos
and Tackle Climate and Sustainable Development Crises in Synergy

A report issued by the UN-convened Expert Group on Climate and SDG Synergy presents a number of recommendations urging governments to break down fragmentation and silos at national and international levels, to tackle the climate and sustainable development crises in tandem and achieve transformative change. The report is being launched before government delegates at a special event of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development on 16 July at UN Headquarters in New York.

"It is no longer feasible to treat climate change and sustainable development separately," the experts state in the report, "with over 80 percent of SDG targets directly linked to climate. But there is a way, by tackling these two critical agendas together, that we can multiply impacts and bridge investment gaps worth trillions of dollars."

Pointing to the setbacks on achieving both international climate and SDG goals, Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua of UN DESA and Executive Secretary Simon Stiell of UNFCCC, which co-convene the expert group, state in their preface that "deep transformative changes are needed to overcome the lack of progress." The report shows that "we have the solutions to make this possible," they state, and that "synergistic action must be at the heart of this transformation." 
 
The group, drawn from diverse backgrounds and research institutions, was recently expanded to include 17 experts in total, with three new members: Elisabeth Gilmore (Carleton University, Canada); Yannick Glemarec (CIRED and Gold Standard); and Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi (United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific). The group is co-led by Luis Gomez Echeverri (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis) and Heidi Hackmann (Future Africa and the University of Pretoria).

Course Correction Urgently Needed

The conclusions of the expert group, drawing upon nearly two years of evidence-building and consultations, come at a crucial time. Both the Paris Agreement on climate change and the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development underwent stocktaking exercises in 2023, which found both processes to be far off track from meeting their goals and called for accelerated implementation and synergistic action. The latest data shows that the last twelve months were the hottest ever, and we risk crossing into 1.5 degree territory imminently. And the annual Sustainable Development Goals Report just issued shows that only 17 per cent of the SDGs are on track, and progress on over one third has stalled or even regressed.

According to the expert report, this lack of progress fundamentally is caused by both a lack of political will and the deep fragmentation and inertia in global systems – governance and public administration, economics and finance, and education and research – that were mostly created under a very different set of global conditions than the world now faces and are no longer fit for purpose for the 21st century.

To achieve the deep transformative changes needed, the experts conclude, a positive focus on the synergies between climate action and sustainable development is vital to enable countries to overcome these challenges while meeting global commitments. A synergistic, integrated approach is also needed across sectors between nations, policymakers, researchers, financiers, business and civil society to achieve a just, equitable and sustainable future for all that leaves no one behind.

In 2025, countries are obligated under the Paris Agreement to put forward new and ambitious commitments in the form of enhanced NDCs (nationally determined contributions), which presents a major opportunity for them to better integrate the SDGs and their own national priorities into their climate plans, to accelerate impact.

Growing evidence

In their latest report, the experts build upon the growing body of evidence on the benefits of synergistic policies and action, including that compiled in their 2023 report, Synergy Solutions for a World in Crisis: Tackling Climate and SDG Action Together. Four detailed thematic reports issued last month by the expert group helped develop recommendations, including those on financial systems; policy frameworks; cities; and knowledge and data.

The international financial infrastructure is plagued with inequities, gaps and inefficiencies that are systemically rooted, the report states, and thus incapable of enabling efficient funding for synergistic action on climate and development. The flow of climate finance is disproportionately channeled towards mitigation efforts, primarily in higher-income countries, leaving many countries from the Global South under-resourced to tackle adaptation challenges. There is a need to develop integrated national investment plans that align finance with domestic priorities and needs, and maximize synergies, the report suggests.

The expert group points out that policy development, usually carried out by national or subnational governments, is traditionally structured by sectors such as finance, health, education and environment, with little if any coordination or synergy. The promotion of renewable energy and transition to net-zero emissions is suggested as a critical policy option that can promote synergies by addressing climate change while promoting inclusive economic development and job creation, improving public health and driving down energy costs, particularly benefiting lower and middle-income groups.

The report stresses the importance of avoiding top-down approaches and instead tailoring solutions to local priorities and contexts. While goals are set and policies are made at international and national levels, for both climate and development action, the action takes place at sub-national and local levels – in cities, rural areas, and communities. With more than half the world's population living in urban areas, cities are well-positioned to take climate decisions that align with sustainable development goals, and the expert group suggests that, as a key entry point for synergies, cities should focus on demand-side climate solutions, such as shifts in modes of transportation, diet and consumption.

Pointing out that there is no shortage of knowledge and data that clearly detail the benefits of a synergistic approach, including in its own 2023 report, the expert group recommends the creation of a global platform for knowledge exchange and data sharing to better inform policy decisions and evaluate synergies effectively, to make this evidence base more accessible and relevant to policymakers.

The recommendations in the report will continue to be advanced in various forums, including at Fifth Global Synergy Conference coming up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 5-6 September 2024, and the Summit of the Future at the UN later that month.