Unlocking Synergies: How the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda Work Hand-in-Hand for a Sustainable Future

The 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement are both universal visions and are both based on being implemented from the bottom up, meaning that countries identify their priorities, needs, and ambitions. Following this paradigm shift towards voluntary binding contributions, the world is now moving on to discuss how to coherently implement both agendas. First attempts have already been made to examine the alignment between implementing the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda, and national development plans and strategies. However, until now there has not been a comprehensive global analysis of how climate actions could contribute to the SDGs.

• The 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement

  The 2030 Agenda consists of 17 SDGs, 169 targets, and a declaration text articulating the principles of integration, universality, transformation, and a global partnership. The SDGs integrate the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of Sustainable development and aim to provide a social foundation for humanity while ensuring that human development takes place within the biophysical boundaries of Earth.

  The SDGs were arrived at through a unique global process, centering on an open working group of member states and consultation with a broad range of stakeholders. The text was subsequently agreed on by all UN member states in the General Assembly in September 2015. While the 2030 Agenda is global in its ambition and universally applicable, it is up to countries to decide how to implement it, and how to prioritize goals and targets, depending on national needs and ambitions. They are free to set up their own national and subnational implementation structures and plans. Countries are also encouraged to work in partnership to learn and assist each other.

• Themes and cross-SDG synergies

  The Climate measures support the thesis that actions generate co-benefits across SDGs. The analysis of cross-cutting themes in NDCs shows that there are many SDG-relevant issues mentioned in the NDCs that relate to more than one SDG.

  By revealing the links between these SDG themes, NDC SDG Connections shows how NDC activities can promote several SDGs at once. In that respect, SDG themes such as energy and agriculture are particularly relevant, but activities related to infrastructure, land use, and finance also span across several SDGs. NDC-SDG Connections can help to identify the most important overlaps between NDCs and targets across the 17 SDGs and pinpoint key ways in which climate action under the Paris Agreement can contribute to the 2030 Agenda.

• Conclusion

  The synergies revealed by the NDC-SDG Connections tool underline the need for policymakers to consider the SDGs and climate action under the NDCs as linked, even integrated agendas; and to address them with coherent policies. Taking into account SDG commitments can help countries ensure that climate actions promote wider social, economic, and environmental ambitions. At the same time, considering committed climate actions and SDG targets together can help avoid duplication of effort and opportunities for more efficient budget allocation.