
Connections between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda
How to implement policy coherence through the connection between the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda? The Stockholm Environment Institute analysed these aspects in the report “Connections between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda”, published in September 2019.
The report highlights that although strong connections exist between the two agendas, not all SDGs are equally addressed by national climate actions. Six SDGs are most prominently covered:
- SDG7 (Affordable and clean energy) – 1213 climate activities contribute to the goal, especially towards increasing the share of sustainable energy
- SDG15 (Life on land) – 965 climate activities (13%) contribute to the goal, in particular promoting sustainable forest management
- SDG2 (Zero hunger) – 852 climate activities (13%) support climate-smart agriculture
- SDG11 (Sustainable cities and communities) – 660 climate activities concentrate on sustainable transport, disaster risk management and integrated urban planning
- SDG6 (Clean water and sanitation) – 630 NDC activities (9%) help improving efficiency in water supply and wastewater treatment
- SDG17 (Partnership for the goals) – 537 climate activities work towards mobilizing financial resources, capacity building, improved policy coherence and transnational cooperation
However, there are also SDGs which are not particularly connected with NDC activities, especially in relation to the social and political questions of the 2030 Agenda. On the global scene:
- 56 countries included at least one activity related to SDG5 (Gender equality), mostly focusing on integration of gender considerations into national policy design.
- Only 23 countries’ NDCs foresee activities connected to SDG10 (Reduce inequalities), although many actions are likely to have positive cascading effects on this goal
- SDG16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions) is the goal with fewest connections to NDC activities. Just 12 countries call for effective and accountable institutions and to integrate climate change impacts in security measures.
The authors of the report recommend to complement and strengthen the NDCs’ connections to the social and political aspects of the 2030 Agenda. The analysis revealed that no more than 12% of the activities are quantified, thus making its difficult to devise clear implementation strategies. Knowledge share on policy planning, budgeting, monitoring and reporting is strongly advocated for, in order to reduce additional work for the countries. More integrated approaches are also encouraged, to the benefit of a more effective and simultaneous advancement of the two agendas.
To read the full report, follow the link Connections between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda