Launch of the First Global Report on Climate and SDGs Synergies

Background
Documents

Background

Context

In his priorities for 2023, the UN Secretary-General stated that “Climate action is the 21st century’s greatest opportunity to drive forward all the Sustainable Development Goals.” Yet, halfway to the deadline for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the progress towards achieving the SDGs and addressing climate change is alarmingly insufficient. The SDG Progress Report highlights that only 12 per cent of the targets are on track, while over 30 per cent of the SDGs have either stalled or regressed, painting a bleak picture of the world’s potential future. On the other front, the Sixth Assessment Report of the IPCC clearly shows that to keep the global temperature within 1.5°C limit, emissions need to be reduced by at least 43% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. This is the decisive decade to make that happen.

Ramping up action on synergistic opportunities to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement is needed now more than ever. There is an increasing pool of evidence that suggests delivering win–win outcomes for climate action and the SDGs is entirely possible, but the full potential of such synergistic outcomes can only be realized if deliberate action is taken. For example, the latest IPCC report shows that if we take decisive climate action now, there is potential to not only advance the SDGs immediately but also gain tremendous development co-benefits in the long-term such as $43 trillion in economic output by 2070.

First Global Report on Climate and SDG Synergy

Despite increasing importance of synergistic approaches to implementation of the Paris goals and the SDGs, current analysis and data on interlinkages between the SDGs and climate action remains uneven and scattered across various sources. To date there is no global authoritative resource dedicated to the topic of climate and SDGs synergies. In response to this critical gap, in May 2023 UNDESA and UNFCCC Secretariat co-convened the Expert Group on Climate and SDG Synergy. The Group consists of 14 renowned experts from diverse thematic and geographic backgrounds who were given the task of developing the First Global Report on Climate and SDG Synergies.

The primary objective of the report is to provide a comprehensive assessment, guidance, and practical framework to advance synergistic action between climate and the SDGs. This includes identifying critical barriers, proposing innovative solutions, and fostering collaborative efforts towards a just, equitable, and climate-compatible future. The report tackles several key problems and challenges. Most importantly, it:

highlights the increasing recognition of win-win situations arising from synergies.
addresses the absence of tools for identifying and enhancing.
delves into the critical role of finance reform in advancing the climate-SDG agenda.
tackles the issue of reporting mechanisms to address the synergies on climate and the SDGs.
seeks to elevate topics such as just transitions, leaving no one behind, and equality in the discussions surrounding climate and SDGs.

Launch event

The launch of the First Global Report on Climate and SDG Synergies will support the ongoing intergovernmental processes by serving as a valuable tool for policy makers to advance synergies between climate action and the SDGs. The launch will be held on 13th of September to inform a series of important upcoming milestones this year, including the SDG Summit, the Climate Ambition Summit and COP28.

The event will take place at the UN SDG Studio in UNHQ in hybrid format with duration of approximately 45 minutes in a dynamic/TV show style format. It will showcase the report’s key recommendations for accelerated action, addressing the critical question of why synergistic action is currently lacking at the required level and how it can be effectively realized. These recommendations are designed to serve as a foundational base for further rigorous analysis, culminating in the preparation of reports for major summits in 2024, including the Summit for the Future, the UNFCCC COPs and Regional Climate Weeks. Through its outcomes, the event aims to inspire concrete actions and commitments, fostering a collaborative global effort towards achieving a just, equitable, and climate-compatible future, while leaving no one behind.