climate action sdg essay

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Related Topics

Climate action and synergies, small island developing states, national strategies and sdg integration, targets and indicators, progress and info.

Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries

Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population

Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030

Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies

Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning

Number of countries with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Total greenhouse gas emissions per year

Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning

Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in ( a ) national education policies; ( b ) curricula; ( c ) teacher education; and ( d ) student assessment

Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible

Amounts provided and mobilized in United States dollars per year in relation to the continued existing collective mobilization goal of the $100 billion commitment through to 2025

Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities  

Number of least developed countries and small island developing States with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Climate records were shattered in 2023, with the world watching the climate crisis unfold in real time. Communities around the world are suffering the effects of extreme weather, which is destroying lives and livelihoods on a daily basis. The roadmap to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C and avoid the worst of climate chaos cannot afford any delays, indecision or half measures by the global community. It demands immediate action for drastic reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions in this decade and the achievement of net zero by 2050.

Target 13.1: o The number of disaster-related deaths and missing persons per 100,000 population (excluding COVID-19 deaths) has nearly halved from 1.62 in the decade 2005-2014 to 0.82 in 2013-2022. However, the absolute number remains high. Between 2013 and 2022, disasters worldwide claimed 42,553 mortalities each year. Further, the number of persons affected by disasters per 100,000 population has increased by over two-third, from 1,169 in 2005-2014 to 1,980 in 2013-2022. 

o In 2023, 129 countries reported the adoption and implementation of national disaster risk reduction strategies, increasing from 55 countries in 2015. Among these countries, 122 countries have reported promoting policy coherence and compliance with the SDGs and the Paris Agreement as a key element in the strategy.

Target 13.2: The year 2023 broke every single climate indicator and was the warmest year on record according to the World Meteorological Organization. Global temperatures rose to 1.45°C, dangerously close for the first time to the 1.5°C lower limit of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Despite some reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries, concentrations of greenhouse gases reached record high observed levels in 2022 and real-time data in 2023 show greenhouse gases continuing to increase. Carbon dioxide levels are 150% above pre-industrial levels.

Target 13.3: A study in 2023 of more than 530 grade 9 science and social science subject curricula found that 69% contained no reference to climate change and 66% made no mention of sustainability. However, three-quarters of countries reported they have plans to revise their curricula in the next three years to focus more on climate change and sustainability.

Target 13.a: Climate finance, reported by Annex I Parties as support provided to developing countries, has increased at a compound rate of 5% from 2015 to 2020, amounting to $41 billion. Although there are a range of estimates and a lack of an agreed accounting methodology on the $100 billion per year goal, the goal was not yet met as of 2021. However, recent progress made in the provision and mobilization of climate finance amounted to $89.6 billion in 2021.

The world is on the brink of a climate catastrophe and current actions and plans to address the crisis are insufficient. Without transformative action starting now and within this decade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions deeply and rapidly in all sectors, the 1.5°C target will be at risk and with it the lives of more than 3 billion people. Failure to act leads to intensifying heatwaves, droughts, flooding, wildfires, sea-level rise, and famines. Emissions should already be decreasing now and will need to be cut almost by half by 2030 - a mere seven years from now. To combat climate change and its impacts by 2030, urgent and transformative action is needed to meet the commitments under the Paris Agreement across mitigation and adaptation efforts.

• Target 13.1: The number of deaths and missing persons due to disasters per 100,000 population has steadily decreased from 1.64 during 2005-2015 to 0.86 during 2012-2021. The average disaster mortality stood at 47,337 in absolute terms in 2015-2021. However, the number of persons affected by disasters per 100,000 people rose from 1,198 during 2005-2015 to 2,113 during 2012-2021. The number of countries with national strategies for disaster risk reduction has increased from 55 in 2015 to 126 by the end of 2021. Based on this, a total of 118  countries have reported having some level of policy coherence with other global frameworks, such as the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement.
• Target 13.2: Global temperatures have already hit 1.1°C, rising due to increasing global greenhouse gas emissions, which reached record highs in 2021. Real-time data from 2022 show emissions continuing an upward trajectory. Instead of decreasing emissions as required by the target to limit warming, carbon dioxide levels increased from 2020 to 2021 at a rate higher than the average annual growth rate of the last decade and is already 149% higher than pre-industrial levels. Projected cumulative future CO2 emissions over the lifetime of existing and currently planned fossil fuel infrastructure exceed the total cumulative net CO2 emissions in pathways that limit warming to 1.5°C (>50%) with no or limited overshoot.
• Target 13.3: An analysis of 100 national curriculum frameworks reveals that nearly half (47%) do not mention climate change. In 2021, despite 95% of teachers recognizing the importance of teaching about climate change severity, only one-third are capable of effectively explaining its effects in their region. Additionally, 70% of young people can only describe the broad principles of climate change in 2022.
• Target 13.a: According to the OECD, total climate finance provided and mobilised by developed countries for developing countries amounted to $83.3 billion in 2020, a 4% increase from 2019, but still short of the $100 billion target. Climate finance remains primarily targeted to mitigation; however, and adaptation finance continues to lag, with international finance flows to developing countries 5-10 times below estimated needs.

The increases in heatwaves, droughts and floods caused by climate change are destroying the planet and affecting billions of lives worldwide. Despite the temporary reduction of CO2 emissions in 2020, global energy-related CO2 emissions rose by 6.0 per cent as demand for coal, oil and gas rebounded with the economy in 2021. Based on current national commitments, global emissions are set to increase by almost 14 per cent over the current decade, which could lead to a climate catastrophe unless Governments, the private sector and civil society work together to take immediate action. However, the war in Ukraine threatens to become the cause of a huge setback for concerted efforts to speed up climate action.

As at 31 December 2021, a total of 123 countries had reported the adoption of national disaster risk reduction strategies, an increase from 55 countries in 2015. The number of countries with disaster risk reduction strategies that promote policy coherence with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement has reached 118, compared with only 44 in 2015. The COVID-19 crisis highlighted a further accelerated global effort and an approach to disaster risk reduction strategies that is more systemic and more multi-hazard in nature.

By April 2022, 193 parties (192 countries plus the European Union) had communicated their first nationally determined contribution under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and 13 parties had submitted their second nationally determined contribution. The nationally determined contributions attest that countries are articulating more quantified targets and indicators for adaptation and identifying links between adaptation and the Sustainable Development Goals and other frameworks.

As at 31 March 2021, 125 of 154 developing countries were taking measures related to national adaptation plans and prioritizing formulation and implementation of national adaptation plans in their adaptation efforts. Six of the least developed countries (including three small island developing States) and an additional four small island developing States had completed a national adaptation plan. More of the least developed countries had prepared a draft national adaptation plan and were on track to complete and submit it in line with the vision of all least developed countries having their national adaptation plan by 2021.

In order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, scientists recommend that by 2030 global emissions should be cut by 4 per cent compared with 2010 levels. According to current national commitments, however, global emissions are set to increase by almost 14 per cent during the rest of the decade.

Source:  Progress Towards Sustainable Development Goals- Report of the Secretary-General 

For more information, please, check:  https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/

Atmospheric concentrations of the major greenhouse gases continued to increase despite the temporary reduction in emissions in 2020 related to measures taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The six years from 2015 to 2020 are likely to be the warmest on record. Climate change is making the achievement of many Goals less likely. To limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in accordance with the Paris Agreement, the world would need to achieve net zero carbon dioxide emissions by around 2050.

As of April 2020, 118 countries and territories had reported the development and adoption of national or local disaster risk reduction strategies, an increase from 48 countries and territories in the first year of the Sendai Framework.

As at 31 December 2020, 190 parties (189 countries and territories plus the European Union) had communicated their first nationally determined contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, of which 44 were least developed countries and 40 were small island developing States. A further 48 countries and territories, of which one is a least developed country and five are small island developing States, have also communicated a second or updated nationally determined contribution. Of these 48 countries and territories, 39 included adaptation information in their new or updated contribution. The nationally determined contributions demonstrate that countries and territories are articulating more quantified targets and indicators for adaptation and identifying links between adaptation, the Goals and other frameworks.

As at 31 March 2021, 125 of 154 developing countries were carrying out measures for national adaptation plans and prioritizing the formulation and implementation of the plans in their adaptation efforts. Moreover, six least developed countries (including three small island developing States) and another four small island developing States have completed a national adaptation plan. Further least developed countries have draft national adaptation plans and are on track to complete and submit these with a view to ensuring that all least developed countries have national adaptation plans by 2021.

According to scientists, global emissions should be cut to 45 per cent below 2010 levels by 2030 in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre -industrial levels. Emissions from developed countries were approximately 6.2 per cent lower in 2019 than in 2010, while emissions from 70 developing countries rose by 14.4 per cent in 2014.

Total climate finance reported by States parties included in annex I to the Framework Convention on Climate Change continues to increase, reaching an annual average of $48.7 billion in the period 2017–2018. This represents an increase of 10 per cent compared to the 2015–2016 period. While more than half of all climatespecific financial support in the 2017 and 2018 was targeted at mitigation action, the share of adaptation support is growing, and many countries and territories are prioritizing adaptation in their financial support provision.

Source :   Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals – E/2021/58

The year 2019 was the second warmest on record and the end of the warmest decade, 2010 to 2019. In addition, with a global average temperature of 1.1°C above estimated pre-industrial levels, the global community is far off track to meet either the 1.5 or 2°C targets called for in the Paris Agreement. Although greenhouse gas emissions are projected to drop by 6 per cent in 2020, and air quality has improved as a result of travel bans and the economic slowdown resulting from the pandemic, the improvement is only temporary. Governments and businesses should utilize the lessons learned to accelerate the transitions needed to achieve the Paris Agreement, redefine the relationship with the environment and make systemic shifts and transformational changes to lower greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient economies and societies.

A total of 85 countries have reported having a national disaster risk reduction strategy aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030  to some extent since its adoption in 2015. In 2018, 55 countries reported that at least some of their local governments had a local disaster risk reduction strategy aimed at contributing to sustainable development and strengthening socioeconomic health and environmental resilience by focusing on poverty eradication, urban resilience and climate change adaptation.

As at 31 March 2020, 186 parties (185 countries plus the European Union) had communicated their first nationally determined contribution, and several parties had communicated their second or updated nationally determined contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Parties have been requested to update existing nationally determined contributions or communicate new ones by 2020, providing a valuable opportunity for parties to increase their level of ambition in climate action.

In 2019, at least 120 of 153 developing countries had undertaken activities to formulate and implement national adaptation plans, an increase of 29 countries, compared with 2018. The plans will help countries achieve the global goal on adaptation under the Paris Agreement.

With regard to global climate finance, there was an increase of $584 billion, or 17 per cent, from 2013 to 2014 and of $681 billion from 2015 to 2016. High levels of new private investment in renewable energy account for the spurt in growth and represent the largest segment of the global total. While these financial flows are considerable, they are relatively small in relation to the scale of annual investment needed for a low-carbon, climate-resilient transition. Moreover, investments in climate activities tracked across sectors were still surpassed by those related to fossil fuels in the energy sector alone ($781 billion in 2016).

Source: Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, Report of the Secretary-General,  https://undocs.org/en/E/2020/57

With rising greenhouse gas emissions, climate change is occurring at rates much faster than anticipated and its effects are clearly felt worldwide. While there are positive steps in terms of the climate finance flows and the development of nationally determined contributions, far more ambitious plans and accelerated action are needed on mitigation and adaptation. Access to finance and strengthened capacities need to be scaled up at a much faster rate, particularly for least developed countries and small island developing States.

• Increasing greenhouse gas emissions are driving climate change. In 2017, greenhouse gas concentrations reached new highs, with globally averaged mole fractions of CO2 at 405.5 parts per million (ppm), up from 400.1 ppm in 2015, and at 146 per cent of pre-industrial levels. Moving towards 2030 emission objectives compatible with the 2°C and 1.5°C pathways requires a peak to be achieved as soon as possible, followed by rapid reductions.
• As indicated under Sustainable Development Goal 1 (see para. 22 above), during the period 1998–2017, direct economic losses from disasters were estimated at almost $3 trillion. Climate-related and geophysical disasters claimed an estimated 1.3 million lives.
• As of April 2019, 185 parties had ratified the Paris Agreement. Parties to the Paris Agreement are expected to prepare, communicate and maintain successive nationally determined contributions, and 183 parties had communicated their first nationally determined contributions to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, while 1 party had communicated its second. Under the Agreement, all parties are required to submit new nationally determined contributions, containing revised and much more ambitious targets, by 2020.
• Global climate finance flows increased by 17 per cent in the period 2015–2016 compared with the period 2013–2014.
• As at 20 May 2019, 28 countries had accessed Green Climate Fund grant financing for the formulation of national adaptation plans and other adaptation planning processes, with a value of $75 million. Of these, 67 per cent were for least developed countries, small island developing States and African States. Proposals from an additional seven countries, with a value of $17 million, are in the final stage of approval. In total, 75 countries are seeking support from the Green Climate Fund for national adaptation plans and other adaptation planning processes, with a combined value of $191 million.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General,  Special edition: progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals

The year 2017 was one of the three warmest on record and was 1.1 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial period. An analysis by the World Meteorological Organization shows that the five-year average global temperature from 2013 to 2017 was also the highest on record. The world continues to experience rising sea levels, extreme weather conditions (the North Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest ever recorded) and increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases. This calls for urgent and accelerated action by countries as they implement their commitments to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

• As of 9 April 2018, 175 Parties had ratified the Paris Agreement and 168 Parties (167 countries plus the European Commission) had communicated their first nationally determined contributions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat.
• In addition, as of 9 April 2018, 10 developing countries had successfully completed and submitted the first iteration of their national adaptation plans for responding to climate change.
• Developed country Parties continue to make progress towards the goal of jointly mobilizing $100 billion annually by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General,  The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

Planetary warming continued in 2016, setting a new record of about 1.1 degrees Centigrade above the preindustrial period, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2016. Drought conditions predominated across much of the globe, aggravated by the El Niño phenomenon In the Statement, WMO also noted that the extent of global sea ice fell to a minimum of 4.14 million km2 in 2016, the second lowest extent on record. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels also reached a record high of 400 parts per million that year. Mitigating climate change and its impacts will require building on the momentum achieved by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which entered into force on 4 November 2016. Stronger efforts are needed to build resilience and limit climate-related hazards and natural disasters.

• Parties to the Paris Agreement are expected to prepare, communicate and maintain successive nationally determined contributions. The nationally determined contributions reflect official country responses to climate change and contributions to global climate action. As of 20 April 2017, 143 parties ratified the Paris Agreement, of which 137 parties (136 countries and the European Commission) communicated their first nationally determined contributions to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• As of 20 April 2017, seven developing countries successfully completed and submitted the first iteration of their national adaptation plans, in response to climate change.
• Developed countries have committed to jointly mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020 to address the climate-related needs of developing countries and to continue that level of support through 2025. Initial efforts to mobilize resources for the Green Climate Fund raised $10.3 billion and developed - country parties are strongly urged to scale up their financial support.
• The number of deaths attributed to natural disasters continues to rise, despite progress in implementing disaster risk reduction strategies. From 1990 to 2015, more than 1.6 million people died in internationally reported natural disasters.
• Many countries have begun implementing national and local disaster risk reduction strategies. In 2014-2015, most reporting countries indicated that environmental impact assessments, legislation on protected areas, climate change adaptation projects and programmes, and integrated planning played a major role in reducing underlying risk factors.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, "Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals",  E/2017/66

• Climate change presents the single biggest threat to development, and its widespread, unprecedented impacts disproportionately burden the poorest and most vulnerable. Urgent action to combat climate change and minimize its disruptions is integral to the successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
• The global nature of climate change calls for broad international cooperation in building resilience and adaptive capacity to its adverse effects, developing sustainable low-carbon pathways to the future, and accelerating the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions. On 22 April 2016, 175 Member States signed the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The new agreement aims to reduce the pace of climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low-carbon future.
• Climate change often exacerbates disasters. Between 1990 and 2013, more than 1.6 million people died in internationally reported disasters, with annual deaths trending upwards. As a result, more countries are acting on the imperative to implement national and local disaster risk reduction strategies. In 2015, 83 countries had legislative and/or regulatory provisions in place for managing disaster risk.
• Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are responsible for providing a range of national reports on their efforts to implement the agreement. As of 4 April 2016, 161 intended nationally determined contributions, from 189 of the 197 Parties to the Framework Convention (the European Commission submitted one joint intended determined contribution) had been recorded by the secretariat of the Framework Convention, providing insights into the efforts many countries are taking to integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning. Among those countries, 137 parties included an adaptation component in their intended nationally determined contributions. Some countries stressed that adaptation was their main climate change priority, with strong linkages to other aspects of national development, sustainability and security. In order to help countries move forward on climate action, a global stocktaking was established, in the context of the Paris Agreement, to assess collective progress every five years. The process will begin in 2018, with a facilitative dialogue to review the efforts of parties towards emissions reductions and to inform the preparation of final nationally determined contributions.
• As parties scale up climate change action, enhanced cooperation, capacity-building and access to financial and technical support will be needed to help many countries realize their priorities, including those identified in intended nationally determined contributions and national adaptation plans. Developed countries have committed to mobilizing, by 2020, $100 billion a year in climate financing from a wide variety of sources to help address the needs of developing countries. By 2025, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will set a new collective goal of at least $100 billion per year. The Green Climate Fund, a mechanism within the Framework Convention created to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices, is an important delivery vehicle for this financing. As of May 2016, the Green Climate Fund had mobilized $10.3 billion.
• Climate change is already affecting the most vulnerable countries and populations, in particular the least developed countries and the small island developing States. The preparation of national adaptation programmes of action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is helping the least developed countries address urgent and immediate needs, with support from the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Least Developed Countries Expert Group. In addition, the implementation of national adaptation programmes of action will help the least developed countries prepare and seek funding for comprehensive national adaptation plans, thereby reducing their risk of being left behind.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, "Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals",  E/2016/75

Bridging the Ambition Gap for the Future We Want through Climate and SDGs Synergy

2024 sdg global business forum, hlpf brownbag seminar on “how science can promote efficient sdg implementation”, keeping the sdg promise: pathways for acceleration, publications, synergy solutions for climate and sdg action: bridging the ambition gap for the future we want, inter-agency policy briefs on accelerating progress on the 2030 agenda from local to global levels: the critical importance of sdg localization, inter-agency policy brief: accelerating sdg localization to deliver on the promise of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, synergy solutions for a world in crisis: tackling climate and sdg action together.

2024 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

SB60: June UN Climate Meetings

UNEA Adopts a Bold Resolution on Promoting Synergies in Environmental Action

Climate action

From climate science to global action.

[goal: 13] calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. Scientists and policymakers have set a goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Today, the planet is only 0.4°C from that mark. On average, each person accounts for 6.2 tonnes of CO2 emissions. But in many countries, the number is three times greater.

↓ Read the full story

The Earth's average surface temperature has increased rapidly since the 1900s

Change in global surface temperature relative to 1850–1900 decadal average (5-2016).

Source: [link: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/ IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis]

Over the past few decades, climate-related natural disasters have increased

Number of climate-related natural disasters.

Source: [link: https://public.emdat.be/data The international disasters database 2022]

Frequency of natural disasters has increased across different types

Number of climate-related natural disasters by type, damage from climate change is increasing, deaths from climate-related natural disasters have fluctuated from year to year, with a subtle indication of a downward trend, number of deaths from climate-related natural disasters, the rapid surge in the number of victims and economic damage is indicative of the growing impact of climate change on our environment and society, the number of victims and economic damage from climate-related natural disasters, human activities are responsible, carbon dioxide accounts for around three-quarters of total emissions.

Source: [link: https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials US Environmental Protection Agency] and [link: https://www.climatewatchdata.org/ghg-emissions Climate Watch]

Sources of GHGs by sector

The electricity and heat generation sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, greenhouse gas emissions by economic sector and gas type.

Source: [link: https://www.climatewatchdata.org/ghg-emissions Climate Watch]

Sources of GHGs by country

Who contributes most to global greenhouse gas emissions, ghg emissions and population in 2019, high-income countries are responsible for the highest share of current and historical co2 emissions.

Source: [link: https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/ The Global Carbon Project]

Impacts of shocks (Russia’s invasion of Ukraine)

Have emissions from the european union reached a plateau, monthly co₂ emissions from 2019 to 2022 for european union.

Source: [link: https://carbonmonitor.org/ Carbon Monitor real-time track of CO2 emissions]

What can be done?

Mitigation actions, the road to net zero requires concerted efforts from all countries.

Source: World Bank Greenhouse Gas Emissions Pathways Dashboard 2022

Adaptation actions

Learn more about sdg 13.

In the charts below you can find more facts about SDG {activeGoal} targets, which are not covered in this story. The data for these graphics is derived from official UN data sources.

SDG target 13.1.3.

Many local governments in low-and middle-income countries lack disaster risk reduction strategies that align with their national strategies.

Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies (%). 2018-2022 average.

Source: United Nations Office for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). Retrieved from [link: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/dataportal/database UN SDG Portal (13.1.3)]. DOWNLOAD

SDG target 13.a.1

Energy systems received the largest share of climate investment from both public and private sources.

Climate investment by public and private sources in usd billion, 2020.

Source: Climate Policy Initiative. [link: https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/global-landscape-of-climate-finance-a-decade-of-data/ Global Landscape of Climate Finance: A Decade of Data]. DOWNLOAD

Press centre

Nuclear technology and applications.

• Climate change
• Environment
• Food and agriculture
• Nuclear science

Nuclear safety and security

• Human and organizational factors
• Governmental, legal and regulatory framework
• Nuclear installation safety
• Radiation protection
• Security of nuclear and other radioactive material
• Radioactive waste and spent fuel management
• Emergency preparedness and response

Safeguards and verification

• Basics of IAEA Safeguards
• Safeguards implementation
• Safeguards legal framework
• Assistance for States
• Member States Support Programmes

Technical Cooperation Programme

• How it works
• How to participate

Coordinated research activities

• Legislative assistance

Key programmes

• Atoms4NetZero
• International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO)
• Together for More Women in Nuclear
• NUTEC Plastics
• Peaceful Uses Initiative
• Rays of Hope
• The SMR Platform and Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI)
• Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC)

Review missions and advisory services

• Catalogue of review missions and advisory services
• Peer review and advisory services calendar

Laboratory services

• Analytical reference materials
• Dosimetry calibration
• Dosimetry auditing
• Inter-laboratory comparisons
• Global Nuclear Safety and Security Network (GNSSN)

Education and training

• Training courses
• Online learning

Scientific and technical publications

• Full catalogue
• Safety Standards
• Nuclear Security Series
• Nuclear Energy Series
• Human Health Series
• Conference Proceedings
• Newsletters
• Nuclear Fusion Journal

General interest material

• IAEA Bulletin
• Nuclear Explained
• Photos (Flickr)
• Photo essays
• Briefs and factsheets
• IAEA Virtual Tours

Official documents

• Information circulars

NUCLEUS information resources

• International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
• Power Reactor Information System (PRIS)
• Advanced Reactors Information System (ARIS)
• Integrated Nuclear Fuel Cycle Information System (iNFCIS)
• Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Information System (SRIS)
• Nuclear Data Services (NDS)
• Research Reactor Database (RRDB)

Other resources

• Library – Nuclear Information Services
• Impact stories
• Press releases
• Media advisories
• Director General statements
• Photo library
• Press contacts
• Press enquiries
• General Conference
• Board of Governors
• Scientific and technical events
• Scientific Forum
• Medium-Term Strategy
• Partnerships
• Gender at the IAEA
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Multilingual content
• List of Member States

Management team

• Director General
• Deputy Directors General

Organizational structure

• Offices Reporting to the Director General
• Technical Cooperation
• Nuclear Energy
• Nuclear Safety and Security
• Nuclear Sciences and Applications
• Working at the IAEA
• Types of Employment

Procurement

• Procurement overview

Search form

You are here.

• Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero hunger
• Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good health and well-being
• Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation
• Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy
• Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate action

• Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life below water
• Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on land
• Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals

If you would like to learn more about the IAEA’s work, sign up for our weekly updates containing our most important news, multimedia and more.

• Arabic (monthly)
• Chinese (monthly)
• English (weekly)
• French (monthly)
• Russian (monthly)
• Spanish (monthly)

Climate change has become one of the biggest environmental challenges worldwide. Experts are working with the help of the IAEA and its partners to use nuclear science and technology to monitor, mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change and respond to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13, which calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impact.

Fighting climate change with nuclear science and technology

Climate change has made water scarcity, food shortages, biodiversity loss and natural disasters more common worldwide. Researchers use nuclear and isotopic techniques to collect data on and monitor how climate change affects the environment — from the ocean and freshwater to mountains and soil — and identify sources of pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. This data can help policymakers take science-based decisions for mitigating and adapting to climate change.

As greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane, accelerate the rate of climate change, countries are working to mitigating these emissions by developing sustainable energy plans, many of which include nuclear power. They are also taking steps to improve the agriculture sector — a major source of greenhouse gas emissions — by using nuclear science and technology to study and develop new methods for growing food that also reduce emissions, such as carbon sequestration, which uses certain types of plants and harvesting methods to encourage soil to take in and hold onto more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

To adapt to changes in the environment, scientists are developing sustainable, ‘climate-smart’ agricultural methods with the help of nuclear science and technology to optimize food production in harsh climate conditions such as drought and high temperatures, while also conserving and preserving natural resources, such as soil and water. They are also researching new methods for protecting energy systems, such as nuclear facilities, from climate-related weather events and disasters.

Climate-Smart Agriculture Enables Asian Farmers to Increase Rice Productivity

FAO and IAEA Underscore the Need to Enhance Agrifood Systems through Climate-Resilient and Nutrition-Dense Crops

More on the IAEA

• Privacy Policy
• Logo Usage Guidelines

Scientific resources

• Information Circulars
• Standards and guides
• Safeguards and Additional Protocol

Stay in touch

United NationsOffice for Outer Space Affairs

• Roles and Responsibilities
• Annual Reports
• Partnerships
• UNISPACE Conferences
• Timeline: UN and Space
• COPUOS 2023 Session
• STSC 2024 Session
• LSC 2024 Session
• Past sessions
• Working Groups
• General Assembly Joint Panel
• Membership Evolution
• Observer Organizations
• Meetings Schedule
• Technical Presentations
• Digital Recordings
• BSS Workshops (1991-2004)
• International Heliophysical Year 2007
• International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI)
• Events and Activities
• Fellowship Programme
• Orbital Mission
• China Space Station
• CubeSats with Vega-C
• Biodiversity/Ecosystems
• Climate Change
• Disaster Management
• Environmental Monitoring and Natural Resource Management
• Global Health
• Current Workshop
• Past Workshops
• Satellite Communications
• Africa, Nigeria (ARCSSTE-E)
• Africa, Morocco (CRASTE-LF)
• Latin America & Caribbean, Mexico & Brazil (CRECTEALC)
• Asia/Pacific, India (CSSTEAP)
• West Asia, Jordan (RCSSTEWA)
• Asia/Pacific, China (RCSSTEAP)
• Education Curricula
• Publications
• Knowledge Management
• Technical Advisory Support
• News and Events
• ICG Terms of Reference
• GNSS Providers
• Performance Standards
• Working Group B
• Working Group C
• Recommendations
• Current Meeting
• Past Meetings
• Space Weather
• Reference Systems
• Education Materials
• A/AC.105/ series
• Terms of Reference
• Working Group Reports
• ICG Reports Extracts
• ICG WG Recommendations
• ICG Timeline
• Current/Upcoming Session
• Open Informal Sessions
• List of Participating Organizations
• Secretary-General's and meeting reports
• Special Reports & Publications
• Treaty Status
• Travaux Préparatoires
• Space Law Resolutions
• National Space Law
• Bilateral & Multilateral Agreements
• Non-legally Binding UN Instruments on Outer Space
• Space Object Register
• First UN Conference on Space Law & Policy
• UN/Turkey/APSCO Conference
• UN Conference - African Perspectives
• UN/Chile Conference on Space Law and Policy
• UN Conference on Space Law and Policy: The Outer Space Treaty for the 21st Century
• 2024 UN Conference on Space Law and Policy
• Space Law Workshops
• Space Law Curriculum
• Sustainable Lunar Activities Conference 2024
• Agriculture
• Environment
• Sustainable Development
• Human Settlements
• Research & Develoment
• Transportation
• Communication
• Humanitarian Assistance
• International Peace & Security
• For Member States
• Hypergravity/Microgravity Track
• Satellite Development Track
• Space Exploration Track
• Acknowledgement
• Space Law for New Space Actors
• Space for Persons with Disabilities
• 2024 Competition
• 2022 Competition
• 2021 Competition
• 2020 Competition
• 2019 Competition
• Submitting Stories
• Space4Water
• Space4Women
• Current Event - WSF 2024
• Past Events
• Worldwide Space Agencies
• Capacity Building Projects
• Space Treaty Implementation
• Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities
• Planetary Defence Conferences
• International Asteroid Day
• Space and Climate Change
• Nuclear Power Sources
• Remote Sensing
• Space Debris Compendium
• Space Solutions for the Pacific
• Space Exploration and Innovation
• Space Economy
• Space and Global Health
• Promoting Space Sustainability
• SDG 1: No Poverty
• SDG 2: Zero Hunger
• SDG 3: Good Health & Well-being
• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 5: Gender Equality
• SDG 6: Clean Water & Sanitation
• SDG 7: Affordable & Clean Energy
• SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption & Production
• SDG 13: Climate Action
• SDG 14: Life Below Water
• SDG 15: Life on Land
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
• Meeting logistics
• Online Learning
• Media Archive
• Photo Gallery
• For Industry & the Private Sector
• World Space Forum
• Messages from Space Explorers to Future Generations
• World Space Week
• International Moon Day
• Registration Convention
• By States and Organizations
• By Year of Issue
• National Registry Notifications
• National Focal Points
• National Space Object Registries
• Search index
• Treaty Implementation
• Resources on Space Object Registration
• General Assembly Resolutions
• COPUOS Reports
• PSA Activity Reports
• ICG Reports
• Other Documents
• COPUOS 2024 Session
• Past Sessions
• Report Archive

Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action

Sustainable Development Goal 13 urges to take action to combat climate change and its impacts*. Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives, costing people, communities and countries dearly today and even more tomorrow. People are experiencing the significant impacts of climate change, which include changing weather patterns, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather events. Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are driving climate change and are continuing to rise. They are now at their highest levels in history. Without action, the world's average surface temperature is projected to rise over the 21st century and is likely to surpass 3ºC this century-with some areas of the world expected to warm even more.

Space technologies play a central role in:

• Climate change monitoring
• Weather forecasting
• Disaster management
• Search and rescue operations

*Acknowledging that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change.

New Report on International Efforts Using Space for Climate Action

The UN, through support from the UK Space Agency, has published the final report of a mapping exercise aimed at improving the understanding of the landscape of key intergovernmental coordination bodies using space technology to support climate action at the global level. Included in the mapping exercise are those bodies in and related to the United Nations system as well as non-United Nations entities, groups, and partnerships.

Among the key conclusions, the exercise has identified well-coordinated and evolving climate observation, research, science, and policy developed by an ever-increasing stakeholder landscape, however, inconsistencies in the definition of climate action and services are rendering coordination more challenging.

Read the full report

Global partnership on space technology applications for disaster risk reduction (GP-STAR)

Due to changing weather patterns, sea level is rising, weather events are becoming more extreme and greenhouse gas emissions are at their highest levels in history, affecting livelihoods, causing casualties and disrupting local economies. In response to climate change challenges, UNOOSA, working with key partners from the Space, Earth Observation, and Civil Protection communities, and regional and international organizations, launched the Global Partnership using Space-based technology applications for disaster risk reduction (GP-STAR). GP-STAR aims to promote the adoption of space-based technology applications, including Earth observation, global navigation satellite systems and satellite telecommunications for Disaster Risk Reduction in accordance with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. By strengthening existing mechanisms and expanding the use of Earth Observation and relevant space-based technologies at all levels, GP-STAR will contribute to a better integrated and wider use of such technologies in Disaster Risk Reduction worldwide.

Space climate observatory . .

Following the COP21 Agreement in Paris, the historical summit that brought key global actors including space agencies together to combat climate change, the One Planet Summit facilitated discussion among leaders from the public and private sphere on concrete actions against climate change. In one such initiative, the leaders of several space agencies proposed to set up a Space Climate Observatory (SCO) to boost collaborative work by improving long-term sustainability and accessibility of climate data from satellites and facilitate raising global awareness about climate change. Since most countries do not currently share climate data gathered by satellites, this agreement seeks to promote free and open data policies as well as satellite data products. The SCO could constitute a strategic contribution to the Space2030 Agenda and provide better opportunities to address the SDGs, enabling worldwide cooperation towards low-emission and resilient societies.

• September 3, 2024 News A/AC.105/C.1/127 - Long-term strategy on space and global health for the period 2025–2035: Working paper prepared by the Coordinator of the Space and Global Health Network
• June 19, 2024 Publications ST/SPACE/90 - UNOOSA 2023 Annual Report
• September 3, 2024 Reports A/AC.105/C.1/127 - Long-term strategy on space and global health for the period 2025–2035: Working paper prepared by the Coordinator of the Space and Global Health Network

UNIS Vienna

United Nations

Terms of Use

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs

United Nations Office at Vienna Vienna International Centre Wagramerstrasse 5 A-1220 Vienna AUSTRIA

Tel.: +43-1 26060-84950 Fax: +43-1-26060-5830

Send us a message!

Sustainable Development Goal 13

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Sustainable Development Goal 13 is to “take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”, according to the United Nations.

The visualizations and data below present the global perspective on where the world stands today and how it has changed over time. Further data and statistics can be found at the Our World in Data topic pages on CO 2 and Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change .

The UN has defined 5 targets and 8 indicators for SDG 13. Targets specify the goals and indicators represent the metrics by which the world aims to track whether these targets are achieved. Below we quote the original text of all targets and show the data on the agreed indicators.

Target 13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related disasters

Sdg indicator 13.1.1 deaths and injuries from natural disasters.

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 13.1.1 is the “number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population” in the UN SDG framework .

In the interactive visualizations, we show a range of metrics that capture human impacts and losses from natural disasters.

The first chart shows the rate of deaths and missing persons from natural disasters. This is followed by a series of charts on deaths, injuries, homelessness, and displacement from disasters.

Target: By 2030 “strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.”

More research: Further data and research on this topic can be found at the Our World in Data topic page on Natural Disasters .

Additional charts

• Total deaths from natural disasters
• Number injured from natural disasters
• Number left homeless from natural disasters
• Number affected by natural disasters

SDG Indicator 13.1.2 National disaster risk management

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 13.1.2 is the “number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030” in the UN SDG framework .

This indicator identifies countries who have and have not adopted and implemented disaster risk management strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 is an international agreement that aims to strengthen disaster preparedness in order to reduce risk and losses from disasters. Although the indicator definition is framed in terms of the number of countries adopting national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework, the United Nations tracks this measure in terms of country levels of implementation.

The interactive visualization here shows levels of country implementation, on a scale from 0 to 1 (where the higher score, the more policies have been implemented). It’s based on an average score from 10 sub-indicators that collectively reflect progress towards implementation of the Sendai Framework.

• Disaster risk reduction score

SDG Indicator 13.1.3 Local disaster risk management

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 13.1.3 is the “proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies” in the UN SDG framework .

In this context, “local governments” refers to sub-national administrative bodies that have responsibility for developing disaster risk reduction strategies.

The number of these local administrations that have adopted disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national strategies are shown in the interactive visualization.

Target 13.2 Integrate climate change measures into policy and planning

Sdg indicator 13.2.1 integration of climate change into national policies.

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 13.2.1 is the “number of countries with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change” in the UN SDG framework .

National commitments within the UNFCCC Paris Agreement vary by country depending on their Nationally Determined Contributions (NCDs) so are not directly comparable.

In the interactive chart you can see the number of countries that have submitted nationally determined contributions (NDCs). In the additional charts below you will find data on national CO 2 emissions, per capita emissions and carbon intensity measures to track progress on emissions reductions.

Target: By 2030 “integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.”

More research: Further data and research on this topic can be found at the Our World in Data topic page on CO 2 and Other Greenhouse Gas Emissions .

• Carbon dioxide emissions by country
• Carbon dioxide emissions intensity
• Carbon dioxide emissions per capita

SDG Indicator 13.2.2 Total greenhouse gas emissions per year

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 13.2.2 is the “total greenhouse gas emissions per year” in the UN SDG framework .

The ultimate aim of the United Nations Climate Change Convention is to achieve the stabilization of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.

GHG emissions are measure in terms of carbon dioxide equivalents because each greenhouse gas has a different warming effects: one tonne of methane does not have the same impact on warming as one tonne of CO 2 . Carbon dioxide equivalents (CO 2 e) attempt to convert the warming impact of the range of greenhouse gases into a single metric.

More research: Further data and research on this topic can be found at the Our World in Data topic page on Greenhouse Gas Emissions .

• Per capita GHG emissions

Target 13.3 Build knowledge and capacity to meet climate change

Sdg indicator 13.3.1 education on climate change.

Definition: Indicator 13.3.1 is the “extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment” in the UN SDG framework .

Responses are submitted by national governments – often the Ministry of Education – after consulting across other government ministries, with national human rights institutes, the education sector and civil society organizations.

National governments submit notes on policies and programmes that facilitate global citizenship eduation across these groups. They are also asked to provide evidence of these interventions.

The major limitation of this measure is that it is self-reported by national governments.

Target: By 2030 “improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.”

Target 13.a Implement the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

Sdg indicator 13.a.1 green climate fund mobilization of $100 billion.

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 13.a.1 is the “amounts provided and mobilized in United States dollars per year in relation to the continued existing collective mobilization goal of the $100 billion commitment through to 2025” in the UN SDG framework .

This indicator measures the current pledged commitments from countries to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) as annual United States dollar contributions pledged. Also shown is the collective global total.

Target: “Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources.” 1

Unlike most SDG targets which have a set target year of 2030, this indicator requires a mobilization of $100 billion per year from 2020 onwards.

Target 13.b Promote mechanisms to raise capacity for planning and management

Sdg indicator 13.b.1 support for planning and management in least-developed countries.

Definition of the SDG indicator: Indicator 13.b.1 is the “number of least developed countries and small island developing States with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change” in the UN SDG framework .

Data for this indicator is shown in the interactive visualization.

Target: By 2030 “Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities.”

Full text: “Implement the commitment undertaken by developed- country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible.”

Cite this work

Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. When citing this article, please also cite the underlying data sources. This article can be cited as:

BibTeX citation

Reuse this work freely

All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the Creative Commons BY license . You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited.

The data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors. We will always indicate the original source of the data in our documentation, so you should always check the license of any such third-party data before use and redistribution.

All of our charts can be embedded in any site.

Our World in Data is free and accessible for everyone.

Help us do this work by making a donation.

• Get involved

THE SDGS IN ACTION.

What are the sustainable development goals.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

The 17 SDGs are integrated—they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Countries have committed to prioritize progress for those who're furthest behind. The SDGs are designed to end poverty, hunger, AIDS, and discrimination against women and girls.

The creativity, knowhow, technology and financial resources from all of society is necessary to achieve the SDGs in every context.

Eradicating poverty in all its forms remains one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. While the number of people living in extreme poverty dropped by more than half between 1990 and 2015, too many are still struggling for the most basic human needs.

As of 2015, about 736 million people still lived on less than US$1.90 a day; many lack food, clean drinking water and sanitation. Rapid growth in countries such as China and India has lifted millions out of poverty, but progress has been uneven. Women are more likely to be poor than men because they have less paid work, education, and own less property.

Progress has also been limited in other regions, such as South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, which account for 80 percent of those living in extreme poverty. New threats brought on by climate change, conflict and food insecurity, mean even more work is needed to bring people out of poverty.

The SDGs are a bold commitment to finish what we started, and end poverty in all forms and dimensions by 2030. This involves targeting the most vulnerable, increasing basic resources and services, and supporting communities affected by conflict and climate-related disasters.

736 million people still live in extreme poverty.

10 percent of the world’s population live in extreme poverty, down from 36 percent in 1990.

Some 1.3 billion people live in multidimensional poverty.

Half of all people living in poverty are under 18.

One person in every 10 is extremely poor.

Goal targets

• By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions
• Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable
• By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance
• By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters
• Ensure significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources, including through enhanced development cooperation, in order to provide adequate and predictable means for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions
• Create sound policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies, to support accelerated investment in poverty eradication actions

SDGs in Action

Cementing a better life

Addressing the root causes of ...

Migrants and refugees making h...

Publications.

Multi-speed growth is back, wi...

Inspiring young people through...

Listening to young Pacific Isl...

Zero hunger.

Zero Hunger

The number of undernourished people has dropped by almost half in the past two decades because of rapid economic growth and increased agricultural productivity. Many developing countries that used to suffer from famine and hunger can now meet their nutritional needs. Central and East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean have all made huge progress in eradicating extreme hunger.

Unfortunately, extreme hunger and malnutrition remain a huge barrier to development in many countries. There are 821 million people estimated to be chronically undernourished as of 2017, often as a direct consequence of environmental degradation, drought and biodiversity loss. Over 90 million children under five are dangerously underweight. Undernourishment and severe food insecurity appear to be increasing in almost all regions of Africa, as well as in South America.

The SDGs aim to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030, making sure all people–especially children–have sufficient and nutritious food all year. This involves promoting sustainable agricultural, supporting small-scale farmers and equal access to land, technology and markets. It also requires international cooperation to ensure investment in infrastructure and technology to improve agricultural productivity.

The number of undernourished people reached 821 million in 2017.

In 2017 Asia accounted for nearly two thirds, 63 percent, of the world’s hungry.

Nearly 151 million children under five, 22 percent, were still stunted in 2017.

More than 1 in 8 adults is obese.

1 in 3 women of reproductive age is anemic.

26 percent of workers are employed in agriculture.

• By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons
• By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment
• By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality
• By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed
• Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries
• Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets, including through the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, in accordance with the mandate of the Doha Development Round
• Adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity markets and their derivatives and facilitate timely access to market information, including on food reserves, in order to help limit extreme food price volatility.

Supporting Food Systems Transf...

South Sudan, the world’s young...

Water unites communities

Can Myanmar bounce back?

Microfinancing powers small bu...

UNDP’s Engagement at Financing...

Good health and well-being.

We have made great progress against several leading causes of death and disease. Life expectancy has increased dramatically; infant and maternal mortality rates have declined, we’ve turned the tide on HIV and malaria deaths have halved.

Good health is essential to sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda reflects the complexity and interconnectedness of the two. It takes into account widening economic and social inequalities, rapid urbanization, threats to the climate and the environment, the continuing burden of HIV and other infectious diseases, and emerging challenges such as noncommunicable diseases. Universal health coverage will be integral to achieving SDG 3, ending poverty and reducing inequalities. Emerging global health priorities not explicitly included in the SDGs, including antimicrobial resistance, also demand action.

But the world is off-track to achieve the health-related SDGs. Progress has been uneven, both between and within countries. There’s a 31-year gap between the countries with the shortest and longest life expectancies. And while some countries have made impressive gains, national averages hide that many are being left behind. Multisectoral, rights-based and gender-sensitive approaches are essential to address inequalities and to build good health for all.

At least 400 million people have no basic healthcare, and 40 percent lack social protection.

More than 1.6 billion people live in fragile settings where protracted crises, combined with weak national capacity to deliver basic health services, present a significant challenge to global health.

By the end of 2017, 21.7 million people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy. Yet more than 15 million people are still waiting for treatment.

Every 2 seconds someone aged 30 to 70 years dies prematurely from noncommunicable diseases - cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes or cancer.

7 million people die every year from exposure to fine particles in polluted air.

More than one of every three women have experienced either physical or sexual violence at some point in their life resulting in both short- and long-term consequences for their physical, mental, and sexual and reproductive health.

• By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births
• By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births
• By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases
• By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being
• Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol
• By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents
• By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes
• Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all
• By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination
• Strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate
• Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and noncommunicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines, in accordance with the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, which affirms the right of developing countries to use to the full the provisions in the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regarding flexibilities to protect public health, and, in particular, provide access to medicines for all
• Substantially increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in least developed countries and small island developing States
• Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks

Achieving the 10-10-10 HIV tar...

The many facets of climate and...

Afghans need sustainable alter...

UNDP at the 25th International...

Quality education.

Since 2000, there has been enormous progress in achieving the target of universal primary education. The total enrollment rate in developing regions reached 91 percent in 2015, and the worldwide number of children out of school has dropped by almost half. There has also been a dramatic increase in literacy rates, and many more girls are in school than ever before. These are all remarkable successes.

Progress has also been tough in some developing regions due to high levels of poverty, armed conflicts and other emergencies. In Western Asia and North Africa, ongoing armed conflict has seen an increase in the number of children out of school. This is a worrying trend. While Sub-Saharan Africa made the greatest progress in primary school enrollment among all developing regions – from 52 percent in 1990, up to 78 percent in 2012 – large disparities still remain. Children from the poorest households are up to four times more likely to be out of school than those of the richest households. Disparities between rural and urban areas also remain high.

Achieving inclusive and quality education for all reaffirms the belief that education is one of the most powerful and proven vehicles for sustainable development. This goal ensures that all girls and boys complete free primary and secondary schooling by 2030. It also aims to provide equal access to affordable vocational training, to eliminate gender and wealth disparities, and achieve universal access to a quality higher education.

Enrollment in primary education in developing countries has reached 91 percent.

Still, 57 million primary-aged children remain out of school, more than half of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

In developing countries, one in four girls is not in school.

About half of all out-of-school children of primary school age live in conflict-affected areas.

103 million youth worldwide lack basic literacy skills, and more than 60 percent of them are women.

6 out of 10 children and adolescents are not achieving a minimum level of proficiency in reading and math.

• By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes
• By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education
• By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
• By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
• By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations
• By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy
• By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development
• Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, nonviolent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all
• By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries
• By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing states

Building a more resilient educ...

Empowering Afghan women and gi...

How Do Investments in Human Ca...

Gender equality.

Gender Equality

Ending all discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right, it’s crucial for sustainable future; it’s proven that empowering women and girls helps economic growth and development.

UNDP has made gender equality central to its work and we’ve seen remarkable progress in the past 20 years. There are more girls in school now compared to 15 years ago, and most regions have reached gender parity in primary education.

But although there are more women than ever in the labour market, there are still large inequalities in some regions, with women systematically denied the same work rights as men. Sexual violence and exploitation, the unequal division of unpaid care and domestic work, and discrimination in public office all remain huge barriers. Climate change and disasters continue to have a disproportionate effect on women and children, as do conflict and migration.

It is vital to give women equal rights land and property, sexual and reproductive health, and to technology and the internet. Today there are more women in public office than ever before, but encouraging more women leaders will help achieve greater gender equality.

Women earn only 77 cents for every dollar that men get for the same work.

35 percent of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence.

Women represent just 13 percent of agricultural landholders.

Almost 750 million women and girls alive today were married before their 18th birthday.

Two thirds of developing countries have achieved gender parity in primary education.

Only 24 percent of national parliamentarians were women as of November 2018, a small increase from 11.3 percent in 1995.

• End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
• Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation
• Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation
• Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate
• Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decisionmaking in political, economic and public life
• Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences
• Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws
• Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women
• Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels

UNDP Gender Equality Strategy ...

The challenges of the Papua Ne...

Press releases.

UNDP applauds Namibian High Co...

Clean water and sanitation.

Water scarcity affects more than 40 percent of people, an alarming figure that is projected to rise as temperatures do. Although 2.1 billion people have improved water sanitation since 1990, dwindling drinking water supplies are affecting every continent.

More and more countries are experiencing water stress, and increasing drought and desertification is already worsening these trends. By 2050, it is projected that at least one in four people will suffer recurring water shortages.

Safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030 requires we invest in adequate infrastructure, provide sanitation facilities, and encourage hygiene. Protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems is essential.

Ensuring universal safe and affordable drinking water involves reaching over 800 million people who lack basic services and improving accessibility and safety of services for over two billion.

In 2015, 4.5 billion people lacked safely managed sanitation services (with adequately disposed or treated excreta) and 2.3 billion lacked even basic sanitation.

71 percent of the global population, 5.2 billion people, had safely-managed drinking water in 2015, but 844 million people still lacked even basic drinking water.

39 percent of the global population, 2.9 billion people, had safe sanitation in 2015, but 2.3 billion people still lacked basic sanitation. 892 million people practiced open defecation.

80 percent of wastewater goes into waterways without adequate treatment.

Water stress affects more than 2 billion people, with this figure projected to increase.

80 percent of countries have laid the foundations for integrated water resources management.

The world has lost 70 percent of its natural wetlands over the last century.

• By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
• By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations
• By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
• By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity
• By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate
• By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes
• By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies
• Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management

Restoring sacred land

Navigating the future of atoll...

(R)evolution

Mapping Essential Life Support...

Affordable and clean energy.

Between 2000 and 2018, the number of people with electricity increased from 78 to 90 percent, and the numbers without electricity dipped to 789 million.

Yet as the population continues to grow, so will the demand for cheap energy, and an economy reliant on fossil fuels is creating drastic changes to our climate.

Investing in solar, wind and thermal power, improving energy productivity, and ensuring energy for all is vital if we are to achieve SDG 7 by 2030.

Expanding infrastructure and upgrading technology to provide clean and more efficient energy in all countries will encourage growth and help the environment.  

One out of 10 people still lacks electricity, and most live in rural areas of the developing world. More than half are in sub-Saharan Africa.

Energy is by far the main contributor to climate change. It accounts for 73 percent of human-caused greenhouse gases.

Energy efficiency is key; the right efficiency policies could enable the world to achieve more than 40 percent of the emissions cuts needed to reach its climate goals without new technology.

Almost a third of the world’s population—2.8 billion—rely on polluting and unhealthy fuels for cooking.

As of 2017, 17.5 percent of power was generated through renewable sources.

The renewable energy sector employed a record 11.5 million people in 2019. The changes needed in energy production and uses to achieve the Paris Agreement target of limiting the rise in temperature to below 2C can create 18 million jobs.

• By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services
• By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
• By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency
• By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology
• By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States, and land-locked developing coun

How a “portfolio approach” spa...

Innovative Governance for Priv...

The big switch

Accelerating the Green Transit...

Decent work and economic growth.

Over the past 25 years the number of workers living in extreme poverty has declined dramatically, despite the lasting impact of the 2008 economic crisis and global recession. In developing countries, the middle class now makes up more than 34 percent of total employment – a number that has almost tripled between 1991 and 2015.

However, as the global economy continues to recover we are seeing slower growth, widening inequalities, and not enough jobs to keep up with a growing labour force. According to the International Labour Organization, more than 204 million people were unemployed in 2015.

The SDGs promote sustained economic growth, higher levels of productivity and technological innovation. Encouraging entrepreneurship and job creation are key to this, as are effective measures to eradicate forced labour, slavery and human trafficking. With these targets in mind, the goal is to achieve full and productive employment, and decent work, for all women and men by 2030.

An estimated 172 million people worldwide were without work in 2018 - an unemployment rate of 5 percent.

As a result of an expanding labour force, the number of unemployed is projected to increase by 1 million every year and reach 174 million by 2020.

Some 700 million workers lived in extreme or moderate poverty in 2018, with less than US$3.20 per day.

Women’s participation in the labour force stood at 48 per cent in 2018, compared with 75 percent for men. Around 3 in 5 of the 3.5 billion people in the labour force in 2018 were men.

Overall, 2 billion workers were in informal employment in 2016, accounting for 61 per cent of the world’s workforce.

Many more women than men are underutilized in the labour force—85 million compared to 55 million.

• Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 per cent gross domestic product growth per annum in the least developed countries
• Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors
• Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
• Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, with developed countries taking the lead
• By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
• By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training
• Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms
• Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment
• By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
• Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all
• Increase Aid for Trade support for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries
• By 2020, develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization

Voices of hope

Indigenous Peoples - an antido...

Industry, innovation and infrastructure.

Investment in infrastructure and innovation are crucial drivers of economic growth and development. With over half the world population now living in cities, mass transport and renewable energy are becoming ever more important, as are the growth of new industries and information and communication technologies.

Technological progress is also key to finding lasting solutions to both economic and environmental challenges, such as providing new jobs and promoting energy efficiency. Promoting sustainable industries, and investing in scientific research and innovation, are all important ways to facilitate sustainable development.

More than 4 billion people still do not have access to the Internet, and 90 percent are from the developing world. Bridging this digital divide is crucial to ensure equal access to information and knowledge, as well as foster innovation and entrepreneurship.   

Worldwide, 2.3 billion people lack access to basic sanitation.

In some low-income African countries, infrastructure constraints cut businesses’ productivity by around 40 percent.

2.6 billion people in developing countries do not have access to constant electricity.

More than 4 billion people still do not have access to the Internet; 90 percent of them are in the developing world.

The renewable energy sectors currently employ more than 2.3 million people; the number could reach 20 million by 2030.

In developing countries, barely 30 percent of agricultural products undergo industrial processing, compared to 98 percent high-income countries.

• Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all
• Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries
• Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets
• By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities
• Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending
• Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States 18
• Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities
• Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020

Digital generation

Generic web page.

AI Hub for Sustainable Develop...

Ensuring positive, people-focu...

Reduced inequalities.

Income inequality is on the rise—the richest 10 percent have up to 40 percent of global income whereas the poorest 10 percent earn only between 2 to 7 percent. If we take into account population growth inequality in developing countries, inequality has increased by 11 percent.

Income inequality has increased in nearly everywhere in recent decades, but at different speeds. It’s lowest in Europe and highest in the Middle East.

These widening disparities require sound policies to empower lower income earners, and promote economic inclusion of all regardless of sex, race or ethnicity.

Income inequality requires global solutions. This involves improving the regulation and monitoring of financial markets and institutions, encouraging development assistance and foreign direct investment to regions where the need is greatest. Facilitating the safe migration and mobility of people is also key to bridging the widening divide.

In 2016, 22 percent of global income was received by the top 1 percent compared with 10 percent of income for the bottom 50 percent.

In 1980, the top one percent had 16 percent of global income. The bottom 50 percent had 8 percent of income.

Economic inequality is largely driven by the unequal ownership of capital. Since 1980, very large transfers of public to private wealth occurred in nearly all countries. The global wealth share of the top 1 percent was 33 percent in 2016.

Under "business as usual", the top 1 percent global wealth will reach 39 percent by 2050.

Women spend, on average, twice as much time on unpaid housework as men.

Women have as much access to financial services as men in just 60 percent of the countries assessed and to land ownership in just 42 percent of the countries assessed.

• By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
• By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
• Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard
• Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality
• Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulations
• Ensure enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decision-making in global international economic and financial institutions in order to deliver more effective, credible, accountable and legitimate institutions
• Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies
• Implement the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreements
• Encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, to States where the need is greatest, in particular least developed countries, African countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their national plans and programmes
• By 2030, reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent

It’s “our collective responsib...

A moment of celebration

Mauritania pilots digital ID a...

Sustainable cities and communities.

More than half of us  live in cities. By 2050, two-thirds of all humanity—6.5 billion people—will be urban. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way we build and manage our urban spaces.

The rapid growth of cities—a result of rising populations and increasing migration—has led to a boom in mega-cities, especially in the developing world, and slums are becoming a more significant feature of urban life.

Making cities sustainable means creating career and business opportunities, safe and affordable housing, and building resilient societies and economies. It involves investment in public transport, creating green public spaces, and improving urban planning and management in participatory and inclusive ways.

In 2018, 4.2 billion people, 55 percent of the world’s population, lived in cities. By 2050, the urban population is expected to reach 6.5 billion.

Cities occupy just 3 percent of the Earth’s land but account for 60 to 80 percent of energy consumption and at least 70 percent of carbon emissions.

828 million people are estimated to live in slums, and the number is rising.

In 1990, there were 10 cities with 10 million people or more; by 2014, the number of mega-cities rose to 28, and was expected to reach 33 by 2018. In the future, 9 out of 10 mega-cities will be in the developing world.

In the coming decades, 90 percent of urban expansion will be in the developing world.

The economic role of cities is significant. They generate about 80 percent of the global GDP.

• By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums
• By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons
• By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
• Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage
• By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations
• By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management
• By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities
• Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning
• By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels
• Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials

Built to last

Urban Content of NDCs: Local C...

Responsible consumption and production.

Achieving economic growth and sustainable development requires that we urgently reduce our ecological footprint by changing the way we produce and consume goods and resources. Agriculture is the biggest user of water worldwide, and irrigation now claims close to 70 percent of all freshwater for human use.

The efficient management of our shared natural resources, and the way we dispose of toxic waste and pollutants, are important targets to achieve this goal. Encouraging industries, businesses and consumers to recycle and reduce waste is equally important, as is supporting developing countries to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption by 2030.

A large share of the world population is still consuming far too little to meet even their basic needs.  Halving the per capita of global food waste at the retailer and consumer levels is also important for creating more efficient production and supply chains. This can help with food security, and shift us towards a more resource efficient economy.

1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year, while almost 2 billion people go hungry or undernourished.

The food sector accounts for around 22 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, largely from the conversion of forests into farmland.

Globally, 2 billion people are overweight or obese.

Only 3 percent of the world’s water is fresh (drinkable), and humans are using it faster than nature can replenish it.

If people everywhere switched to energy efficient lightbulbs, the world would save US$120 billion annually.

One-fifth of the world’s final energy consumption in 2013 was from renewable sources.

• Implement the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries
• By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
• By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses
• By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment
• By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse
• Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle
• Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities
• By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature
• Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production
• Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
• Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities

Equator Prize 2024 honors 11 I...

UNDP partners with Sitra to ac...

Popping the bottle

Popping the bottle, climate action.

There is no country that is not experiencing the drastic effects of climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions are more than 50 percent higher than in 1990. Global warming is causing long-lasting changes to our climate system, which threatens irreversible consequences if we do not act.

The annual average economic losses from climate-related disasters are in the hundreds of billions of dollars. This is not to mention the human impact of geo-physical disasters, which are 91 percent climate-related, and which between 1998 and 2017 killed 1.3 million people, and left 4.4 billion injured. The goal aims to mobilize US$100 billion annually by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries to both adapt to climate change and invest in low-carbon development.

Supporting vulnerable regions will directly contribute not only to Goal 13 but also to the other SDGs. These actions must also go hand in hand with efforts to integrate disaster risk measures, sustainable natural resource management, and human security into national development strategies. It is still possible, with strong political will, increased investment, and using existing technology, to limit the increase in global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, aiming at 1.5 ° C, but this requires urgent and ambitious collective action.

As of 2017 humans are estimated to have caused approximately 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels.

Sea levels have risen by about 20 cm (8 inches) since 1880 and are projected to rise another 30–122 cm (1 to 4 feet) by 2100.

To limit warming to 1.5C, global net CO2 emissions must drop by 45% between 2010 and 2030, and reach net zero around 2050.

Climate pledges under The Paris Agreement cover only one third of the emissions reductions needed to keep the world below 2°C.

Bold climate action could trigger at least US$26 trillion in economic benefits by 2030.

The energy sector alone will create around 18 million more jobs by 2030, focused specifically on sustainable energy.

• Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
• Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
• Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
• Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible
• Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities

Second Regular Session of the ...

Designing digital systems for ...

A generation of hope: Youth-le...

Life below water.

The world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents and life – drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. How we manage this vital resource is essential for humanity as a whole, and to counterbalance the effects of climate change.

Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods. However, today we are seeing 30 percent of the world’s fish stocks overexploited, reaching below the level at which they can produce sustainable yields.

Oceans also absorb about 30 percent of the carbon dioxide produced by humans, and we are seeing a 26 percent rise in ocean acidification since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Marine pollution, an overwhelming majority of which comes from land-based sources, is reaching alarming levels, with an average of 13,000 pieces of plastic litter to be found on every square kilometre of ocean.

The SDGs aim to sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems from pollution, as well as address the impacts of ocean acidification. Enhancing conservation and the sustainable use of ocean-based resources through international law will also help mitigate some of the challenges facing our oceans.

The ocean covers three quarters of the Earth’s surface and represents 99 percent of the living space on the planet by volume.

The ocean contains nearly 200,000 identified species, but actual numbers may lie in the millions.

As much as 40 percent of the ocean is heavily affected by pollution, depleted fisheries, loss of coastal habitats and other human activities.

The ocean absorbs about 30 percent of carbon dioxide produced by humans, buffering the impacts of global warming.

More than 3 billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods.

The market value of marine and coastal resources and industries is estimated at US$3 trillion per year, about 5 percent of global GDP.

• By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution
• By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans
• Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels
• By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics
• By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information
• By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation
• By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism
• Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries
• Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets
• Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in UNCLOS, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of The Future We Want

Why UNDP is tackling the devel...

“It's like the ocean itself is...

New $135 million UNDP and GEF ...

Turning development challenges...

Life on land.

Human life depends on the earth as much as the ocean for our sustenance and livelihoods. Plant life provides 80 percent of the human diet, and we rely on agriculture as an important economic resources. Forests cover 30 percent of the Earth’s surface, provide vital habitats for millions of species, and important sources for clean air and water, as well as being crucial for combating climate change.

Every year, 13 million hectares of forests are lost, while the persistent degradation of drylands has led to the desertification of 3.6 billion hectares, disproportionately affecting poor communities.

While 15 percent of land is protected, biodiversity is still at risk. Nearly 7,000 species of animals and plants have been illegally traded. Wildlife trafficking not only erodes biodiversity, but creates insecurity, fuels conflict, and feeds corruption.

Urgent action must be taken to reduce the loss of natural habitats and biodiversity which are part of our common heritage and support global food and water security, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and peace and security.

Around 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods.

Forests are home to more than 80 percent of all terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects.

2.6 billion people depend directly on agriculture for a living.

Nature-based climate solutions can contribute about a third of CO2 reductions by 2030.

The value of ecosystems to human livelihoods and well-being is $US125 trillion per year.v

Mountain regions provide 60-80 percent of the Earth's fresh water.

• By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements
• By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally
• By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world
• By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development
• Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species
• Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to such resources, as internationally agreed
• Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products
• By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate the priority species
• By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts
• Mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems
• Mobilize significant resources from all sources and at all levels to finance sustainable forest management and provide adequate incentives to developing countries to advance such management, including for conservation and reforestation
• Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities

Peace, justice and strong institutions

We cannot hope for sustainable development without peace, stability, human rights and effective governance, based on the rule of law. Yet our world is increasingly divided. Some regions enjoy peace, security and prosperity, while others fall into seemingly endless cycles of conflict and violence. This is not inevitable and must be addressed.

Armed violence and insecurity have a destructive impact on a country’s development, affecting economic growth, and often resulting in grievances that last for generations. Sexual violence, crime, exploitation and torture are also prevalent where there is conflict, or no rule of law, and countries must take measures to protect those who are most at risk

The SDGs aim to significantly reduce all forms of violence, and work with governments and communities to end conflict and insecurity. Promoting the rule of law and human rights are key to this process, as is reducing the flow of illicit arms and strengthening the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance.

By the end of 2017, 68.5 million people had been forcibly displaced as a result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations.

There are at least 10 million stateless people who have been denied nationality and its related rights.

Corruption, bribery, theft and tax evasion cost developing countries US$1.26 trillion per year.

49 countries lack laws protecting women from domestic violence.

In 46 countries, women now hold more than 30 percent of seats in at least one chamber of national parliament.

1 billion people are legally ‘invisible’ because they cannot prove who they are. This includes an estimated 625 million children under 14 whose births were never registered.

• Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere
• End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children
• Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
• By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime
• Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms
• Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
• Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels
• Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance
• By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration
• Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements
• Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime
• Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development

Partnerships for the goals

The SDGs can only be realized with strong global partnerships and cooperation. Official Development Assistance remained steady but below target, at US$147 billion in 2017. While humanitarian crises brought on by conflict or natural disasters continue to demand more financial resources and aid. Many countries also require Official Development Assistance to encourage growth and trade.

The world is more interconnected than ever. Improving access to technology and knowledge is an important way to share ideas and foster innovation. Coordinating policies to help developing countries manage their debt, as well as promoting investment for the least developed, is vital for sustainable growth and development.

The goals aim to enhance North-South and South-South cooperation by supporting national plans to achieve all the targets. Promoting international trade, and helping developing countries increase their exports is all part of achieving a universal rules-based and equitable trading system that is fair and open and benefits all.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says achieving SDGs will require US$5 trillion to $7 trillion in annual investment.

Total official development assistance reached US$147.2 billion in 2017.

In 2017, international remittances totaled US$613 billion; 76 percent of it went to developing countries.

In 2016, 6 countries met the international target to keep official development assistance at or above 0.7 percent of gross national income.

Sustainable and responsible investments represent high-potential sources of capital for SDGs. As of 2016, US$18.2 trillion was invested in this asset class.

The bond market for sustainable business is growing. In 2018 global green bonds reached US$155.5billion, up 78 percent from previous year.

• Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection
• Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries
• Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources
• Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress
• Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries  
• Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism
• Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed
• Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology  

Capacity building

• Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the sustainable development goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation  
• Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda
• Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020
• Realize timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed countries, consistent with World Trade Organization decisions, including by ensuring that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from least developed countries are transparent and simple, and contribute to facilitating market access  

Systemic issues

Policy and institutional coherence

• Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence
• Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development
• Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development  

Multi-stakeholder partnerships

• Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
• Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships  

Data, monitoring and accountability

• By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts
• By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries

What is multilateralism in 202...

Sustainable Development Goals Integration

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• CORRESPONDENCE
• 02 May 2018

Shore up support for climate action using SDGs

• Francesco Fuso Nerini 0

KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. On behalf of 10 correspondents (see Supplementary Information for full list).

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

The United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development commits all countries to attaining 17 goals (SDGs) and 169 targets by 2030, including SDG13’s action to combat climate change and its impacts ( go.nature.com/2r1wf72 ). Notwithstanding this goal’s long-term benefits and synergies across other SDGs, climate action could have trade-offs with several of the SDG targets (see also M. Nilsson et al. Nature 534 , 320–322; 2016 ). We suggest that the SDGs should be used as reference points to map relationships between climate action and sustainable development.

Access options

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

24,99 € / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

185,98 € per year

only 3,65 € per issue

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 557 , 31 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05007-1

Supplementary Information

• Supplementary list of correspondents

Related Articles

• Climate change

Massive Attack’s science-led drive to lower music’s carbon footprint

Career Feature 04 SEP 24

The race to save fossils exposed by Brazil’s record-setting floods

News 30 AUG 24

Indian landslide tragedy demands a rethink of hazard mapping in a changing climate

Correspondence 27 AUG 24

Live music is a major carbon sinner — but it could be a catalyst for change

Editorial 04 SEP 24

Gender-affirming therapy reshapes the immune systems of trans men

News 04 SEP 24

Faculty Recruitment, Westlake University School of Medicine

Faculty positions are open at four distinct ranks: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Full Professor, and Chair Professor.

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

Westlake University

Postdoctoral Researcher - Neural Circuits Genetics and Physiology for Learning and Memory

A postdoctoral position is available to study molecular mechanisms, neural circuits and neurophysiology of learning and memory.

Dallas, Texas (US)

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Assistant/Associate Professor (Tenure Track) - Integrative Biology & Pharmacology

The Department of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology (https://med.uth.edu/ibp/), McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Scienc...

Houston, Texas (US)

UTHealth Houston

Faculty Positions

The Yale Stem Cell Center invites applications for faculty positions at the rank of Assistant, Associate, or full Professor. Rank and tenure will b...

New Haven, Connecticut

Yale Stem Cell Center

Postdoc/PhD opportunity – Pharmacology of Opioids

Join us at MedUni Vienna to explore the pharmacology of circular and stapled peptide therapeutics targetting the κ-opioid receptor in the periphery.

Vienna (AT)

Medical University of Vienna

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

• News, Stories & Speeches
• Get Involved
• Structure and leadership
• Committee of Permanent Representatives
• UN Environment Assembly
• Funding and partnerships
• Policies and strategies
• Evaluation Office
• Secretariats and Conventions
• Asia and the Pacific
• Latin America and the Caribbean
• New York Office
• North America

Climate action

• Nature action
• Chemicals and pollution action
• Digital Transformations
• Disasters and conflicts
• Environment under review
• Environmental law and governance
• Extractives
• Fresh Water
• Green economy
• Ocean, seas and coasts
• Resource efficiency
• Sustainable Development Goals
• Youth, education and environment
• Publications & data

The world is in a climate emergency. Unless greenhouse gas emissions fall dramatically, warming could pass 2.9°C this century

Unless greenhouse gas emissions fall dramatically, warming could pass 2.9°C this century, which would have catastrophic consequences for life on this planet. UNEP takes a four-pronged approach to addressing the climate crisis and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. The organisation;

→ provides cutting-edge research to support science-based decision-making on climate change

→ works across sectors to support the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future

→ ensures a just transition to a carbon-neutral world by empowering communities to adapt to changing climatic conditions ; and 

→ develops sustainable mechanisms to unlock financing to help countries both mitigate and adapt to climate change.

UNEP is working with the Democratic Republic of the Congo to enable sustainable agroforestry, which provides myriad…

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen urges experts at the third GEO-7 authors' meeting to create a solutions-focused…

The nation is facing an existential threat from rising seas, which threaten to swamp many of the low-lying islands in…

This video explains how climate change is affecting Antigua and Barbuda and why the country is using the international…

Opening remarks from UNEP Executive Director at the virtual Hiroshima/Nagasaki exhibition 

The Western Indian Ocean is under mounting pressure from climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. The Nairobi…

Denmark, a key contributor to UNEP, has focused on helping communities adapt to the fallout from climate change.

Date: August 21, 2024 || 10:00 – 11:30 (Almaty time) Register here: https://forms.gle/…

UNEP is helping six countries along the Northern Corridor to cut air pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

UNEP’s Pan-African Action Plan for Active Mobility brings together governments, businesses, financial institutions and…

Our work on Climate Action is carried out through public-private partnerships, often involving partners, collaborating centres, programmes and networks.

The work of UNEP on climate action is led by the Climate Change Division and coordinated by the Climate Action Subprogramme.

© 2024 UNEP Terms of Use Privacy   Report Project Concern Report Scam Contact Us

SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

• Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities.
• Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
• Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.
• Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
• Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly USD 100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible.

Note: Acknowledging that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change.

Climate change, caused by human activity, poses growing risks to people and the environment. Rising temperatures have made storms and droughts more severe. Catastrophic storms destroy lives and homes. Sea level rise threatens low-lying areas. Women and children bear much of the brunt, being 14 times more likely than men to die during a disaster.

Globally, one fourth of all economically active women are engaged in agriculture, where they must contend with climate consequences such as crop failure. Often they have fewer resources, such as irrigation and technology, to cope. By 2050, wheat production may fall by 49 per cent in South Asia and 36 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa. Lower yields mean a drop in income as well as a scarcity of food, with the risk that women and girls will be the first to eat less. Other pressures come from their disproportionate responsibilities for collecting increasingly scarce water and fuel.

Through their experiences and traditional knowledge as stewards of many natural resources, women can offer valuable insights into better managing scarce resources and mitigating climate risks. They also have a right to all capacities needed to adapt to climate shifts, and to participate in decisions with profound implications for people and the planet. 

UN Women acts to combat climate change  by advocating for gender equality and women’s empowerment in all efforts, including global climate talks, to mitigate and adapt to it. To reduce the number of women impacted by disasters, we promote disaster-risk reduction planning and training to help women become more resilient and informed.

From where I stand: Leaving no one behind in Barbuda After Hurricane Irma caused the entire island of Barbuda to evacuate, Farmala Jacobs, Acting Executive Director of the Directorate of Gender Affairs of Antigua and Barbuda speaks about the importance of understanding how women are impacted by climate disaster and including them in response planning.

Expert’s take: When building climate resilience, women’s needs cannot be an afterthought Dilruba Haider, a Programme Specialist on Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change and Humanitarian Actions, with UN Women Bangladesh Country Office, highlights the importance of incorporating women’s practical needs, knowledge and skills in planning, implementing and measuring the success of climate action.

Photo essay: Climate change is a women’s issue Human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, the overexploitation of the earth’s natural resources, unsustainable production and consumption patterns pose a risk to all of humanity. Women are agents of change who must equally be part of the solution towards a sustainable future.

• ‘One Woman’ – The UN Women song
• UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous
• Kirsi Madi, Deputy Executive Director for Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships
• Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Deputy Executive Director for Normative Support, UN System Coordination and Programme Results
• Guiding documents
• Report wrongdoing
• Programme implementation
• Career opportunities
• Application and recruitment process
• Meet our people
• Internship programme
• Procurement principles
• Gender-responsive procurement
• Doing business with UN Women
• How to become a UN Women vendor
• Contract templates and general conditions of contract
• Vendor protest procedure
• Facts and Figures
• Global norms and standards
• Women’s movements
• Parliaments and local governance
• Constitutions and legal reform
• Preguntas frecuentes
• Global Norms and Standards
• Macroeconomic policies and social protection
• Sustainable Development and Climate Change
• Rural women
• Employment and migration
• Facts and figures
• Creating safe public spaces
• Spotlight Initiative
• Essential services
• Focusing on prevention
• Research and data
• Other areas of work
• UNiTE campaign
• Conflict prevention and resolution
• Building and sustaining peace
• Young women in peace and security
• Rule of law: Justice and security
• Women, peace, and security in the work of the UN Security Council
• Preventing violent extremism and countering terrorism
• Planning and monitoring
• Humanitarian coordination
• Crisis response and recovery
• Disaster risk reduction
• Inclusive National Planning
• Public Sector Reform
• Tracking Investments
• Strengthening young women's leadership
• Economic empowerment and skills development for young women
• Action on ending violence against young women and girls
• Engaging boys and young men in gender equality
• Leadership and Participation
• National Planning
• Violence against Women
• Access to Justice
• Regional and country offices
• Regional and Country Offices
• Liaison offices
• 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• UN Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change
• Commission on the Status of Women
• Economic and Social Council
• General Assembly
• Security Council
• High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
• Human Rights Council
• Climate change and the environment
• Other Intergovernmental Processes
• World Conferences on Women
• Global Coordination
• Regional and country coordination
• Promoting UN accountability
• Gender Mainstreaming
• Coordination resources
• UN Coordination Library
• System-wide strategy
• Focal Point for Women and Gender Focal Points
• Entity-specific implementation plans on gender parity
• Laws and policies
• Strategies and tools
• Reports and monitoring
• Training Centre services
• Publications
• Government partners
• National mechanisms
• Civil Society Advisory Groups
• Benefits of partnering with UN Women
• Business and philanthropic partners
• Goodwill Ambassadors
• National Committees
• UN Women Media Compact
• UN Women Alumni Association
• Editorial series
• Media contacts
• Annual report
• Progress of the world’s women
• SDG monitoring report
• World survey on the role of women in development
• Reprint permissions
• Secretariat
• 2023 sessions and other meetings
• 2022 sessions and other meetings
• 2021 sessions and other meetings
• 2020 sessions and other meetings
• 2019 sessions and other meetings
• 2018 sessions and other meetings
• 2017 sessions and other meetings
• 2016 sessions and other meetings
• 2015 sessions and other meetings
• Compendiums of decisions
• Reports of sessions
• Key Documents
• Brief history
• CSW snapshot
• Preparations
• Official Documents
• Official Meetings
• Side Events
• Session Outcomes
• CSW65 (2021)
• CSW64 / Beijing+25 (2020)
• CSW63 (2019)
• CSW62 (2018)
• CSW61 (2017)
• Member States
• Eligibility
• Registration
• Opportunities for NGOs to address the Commission
• Communications procedure
• Grant making
• Accompaniment and growth
• Results and impact
• Knowledge and learning
• Social innovation
• UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women
• About Generation Equality
• Generation Equality Forum
• Action packs

Search the United Nations

• Member States

Main Bodies

• Secretary-General
• Secretariat
• Emblem and Flag
• ICJ Statute
• Nobel Peace Prize
• Peace and Security
• Human Rights
• Humanitarian Aid
• Sustainable Development and Climate
• International Law
• Global Issues
• Official Languages
• Observances
• Events and News
• Get Involved

Support Sustainable Development and Climate Action

The United Nations launched its sustainable development agenda in 2015, reflecting the growing understanding by Member States that a development model that is sustainable for this and future generations offers the best path forward for reducing poverty and improving the lives of people everywhere. At the same time, climate change began making a profound impact on the consciousness of humanity. With the polar ice caps melting, global sea levels rising and cataclysmic weather events increasing in ferocity, no country in the world is safe from the effects of climate change.

Building a more sustainable global economy will help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. It is, therefore, critically important that the international community meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goals – and also the targets for reducing emissions set in the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015.

Sustainable development and climate action are linked – and both are vital to the present and future well-being of humanity.

UN Chief on Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals

Ever wondered: What is the 'Paris Agreement', and how does it work? This video explains the basics.

Environmental Global Commons Global Sustainable Development Report

The Sustainable Development Agenda

MDGs — Close to 40 per cent of the population of the developing world was living in extreme poverty only two decades ago. Since then, the world has halved extreme poverty, with the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) greatly contributing to this progress. 2030 Agenda — Recognizing the success of the MDGs, and the need to complete the job of eradicating poverty, the UN adopted the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , which includes ending poverty; zero hunger; good health and well being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life below water; life on land; peace, justice and strong institutions; and partnerships for the goals. Paris Agreement — While these goals were being formulated and approved, the United Nations supported the climate change negotiations, which led to the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015. The central aim of the Paris Agreement is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, or even below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the Paris Agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change. In order to reach these goals, financing, new technology and an enhanced capacity-building framework will be put in place. The Agreement also provides for enhanced transparency of action and support through a transparency framework.

Key summits

2023 sdg summit.

The 2023 SDG Summit took place on 18-19 September 2023 in New York. It marked the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals with high-level political guidance on transformative and accelerated actions leading up to 2030.

Convened by the President of the General Assembly, the Summit marked the half-way point to the deadline set for achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. It responded to the impact of multiple and interlocking crises facing the world and is expected to reignite a sense of hope, optimism, and enthusiasm for the 2030 Agenda.

Speaking at the opening of the high-level forum, Secretary-General António Guterres said: “The SDGs aren’t just a list of goals. They carry the hopes, dreams, rights and expectations of people everywhere.”

The SDG Summit adopted a Political Declaration , which calls for “gearing up for a decade of action and delivery for sustainable development”.

Climate Ambition Summit

Against the backdrop of the worsening climate crisis, the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Ambition Summit aimed to showcase “first mover and doer” leaders from government, business, finance, local authorities, and civil society who came with credible actions, policies and plans – and not just pledges – to accelerate the decarbonization of the global economy and deliver climate justice in line with his  Acceleration Agenda .

“If these first-doers and first-movers can do it, everybody can do it,” the Secretary-General said in his  closing remarks , calling it a “Summit of Hope.”

By demonstrating that tangible and ambitious action to credibly cut emissions and deliver climate justice was possible and practical, the Summit showcased a way forward: the alignment of sectoral, local, national and international plans and policies with credible and scienced-backed targets to accelerate decarbonization, advance climate justice and fairness, with unprecedented levels of coordination and cooperation, and a renewed focus on credibility and accountability.

IPCC Synthesis report 2023

UNDP: Natural Ally

Key entities working to support Sustainable Development and Climate Action

Un high-level political forum on sustainable development.

The UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development is the main global forum for reviewing successes, challenges and lessons learned on achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and for countries to present their Voluntary National Reviews. The Forum is convened under the auspices of both the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly, and its meetings alternate between the two.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC (UN Climate Change)

Maintains the registry for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) established under the Paris Agreement, among other functions. The Paris Agreement requests each country to outline and communicate their post-2020 climate actions, known as their NDCs. Together, these climate actions determine whether the world achieves the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

UNEP is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. UNEP works to support the world to transition to a low-carbon, sustainable future.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

As the lead UN development agency, UNDP helps implement the SDGs through its work in some 170 countries and territories.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

UNICEF works with governments, partners and other UN agencies to support countries around the world to ensure that the SDGs deliver results for every child - now and for generations to come.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

UNHCR offers a universal, integrated, transformative and human rights-based vision for sustainable development, peace and security, which is applicable to all people and all countries, including the most developed.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)

Poverty eradication and respect for human rights, central pillars of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are at the core of UNRWA’s human development, humanitarian and protection work. The SDGs central to its work are: SDG 1: No Poverty; SDG 2: Zero Hunger; SDG 3 Good Health and Well-Being; SDG 4: Quality Education; SDG 5: Gender Equality; SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation; SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth; SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities; SDG17: Partnerships.

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)

The Department of Economic and Social Affairs (part of the UN Secretariat) engages stakeholders around the world in the implementation, evaluation and monitoring process of the SDGs.

UN Regional Economic Commissions

UN Regional Economic Commissions play a critical role in supporting countries in their efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda by providing technical capacity and analytical work and policy advisory services, and serving as platforms for dialogue. The UN's Regional Economic Commissions are part of the UN Secretariat.

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has emphasized the importance of planning as a key tool of policymaking and public management. Countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean region have made significant commitments and taken steps to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into their national or subnational planning schemes.

Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)

ECA supported Member States in achieving regional cooperation and integration, and contributed to the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area by 44 African countries, which will create a single continental market for goods and services that can deliver economies of scale, improved competitiveness, foreign direct investment and poverty reduction (SDG Goal 1).

Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)

UNECE supports the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by addressing transboundary issues: (Convention on the protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes), improving road safety, developing frameworks for the improved management of natural resources, and improving statistics for sustainable development.

Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

With extensive in-house expertise, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has developed multisectoral research analysis on regional and national pathways for achieving the 2030 Agenda.

The ESCAP Trust Fund for Tsunami, Disaster and Climate Preparedness

Provides overall disaster and climate preparedness for the Asia and Pacific region.

Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)

ESCWA has developed a macroeconomic Sustainable Development Goal model that simulates the impact of policy choices on each of the 17 SDGs. ESCWA has also developed a regional multidimensional poverty reduction framework that was adopted by Arab leaders at the 2019 Arab Economic and Social Development Summit of the League of Arab States.

UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

UNDRR works towards the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses to ensure a sustainable future.

UN Office for Partnerships (UNOP)

The United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP) serves as a global gateway for catalysing and building partnership initiatives between public and private sector stakeholders including civil society organizations, businesses, philanthropy, trade unions, academia and the United Nations in furtherance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

WMO helps its Members to monitor the Earth’s climate on a global scale, so that reliable information is available to support evidence-based decision-making on how to best adapt to a changing climate and manage risks associated with climate variability and extremes.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

IMF work shows the key role of policies that respond to global climate change and other environmental challenges.

The SDGs are aligned with the World Bank Group’s twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. The adoption of a new approach to development finance through the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, along with the 2030 Agenda, and SDGs, the Sendai disaster risk framework, and the Paris Climate Agreement will guide the UN system and the UN-World Bank Group partnership through 2030.

UN Global Compact

The multi-year strategy of the UN Global Compact is to drive business awareness and action in support of achieving the SDGs by 2030.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

UNFPA is working with governments and other partners to better understand population dynamics, how they affect the changing climate and how people can become resilience in the face of these changes.

UN-HABITAT Promotes sustainable human settlements development.

World Food Programme (WFP)

Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals – Zero Hunger – pledging to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, is the priority of the World Food Programme.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals by sustainably building a world without hunger, malnutrition and poverty is the goal of FAO.

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Given its goal of transforming rural areas and its unmatched experience in investing in smallholder farmers, IFAD plays a central role in achieving SDGs 1 (no poverty) and 2 (zero hunger).

International Labour Organization (ILO)

By engaging governments, workers and employers as active agents of change, the ILO promotes the greening of enterprises, workplace practices and the labour market as a whole. These efforts create decent employment opportunities, enhance resource efficiency and build low-carbon sustainable societies.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)

IMO’s Technical Cooperation Committee has formally approved linkages between the Organization’s technical assistance work and the SDGs. While the Oceans goal, SDG 14, is central to IMO, aspects of the Organization's work can be linked to all individual SDGs.

International Telecommunication Union

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) can help accelerate progress towards every single one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ITU contributes to SDG 9 in particular—helping to build resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation (specifically SDG Target 9.c).

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

UNESCO contributes to the implementation of the SDGs through its work on Education, Natural Sciences, Social and Human Sciences, Culture, Communication and information. Additionally, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO holds a universal mandate and global convening power for ocean science and capacity development in support of the 2030 Agenda and its sustainable goals.

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

UNIDO supports all 17 SDGs, but puts a strong emphasis on SDG9, which focuses on building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation.

World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

Tourism has the potential to contribute, directly, or indirectly, to all of the SDGs, in particular, in Goals, 8, 12 and 14 on inclusive and sustainable use of oceans and marine resources. UNWTO is contributing with technical assistance and capacity-building.

Universal Postal Union (UPU)

The Online Solution for Carbon Analysis and Reporting – known as OSCAR – is a tool provided by the UPU to assist postal operators in the analysis of their individual greenhouse emissions by scope source and product.

World Health Organization (WHO)

WHO is coordinating the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All, a plan to accelerate progress towards the SDGs global health goals.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

The World Intellectual Property Oragnization contributes to the SDGs by providing concrete services to its member states, enabling them to use the intellectual property (IP) system to drive the innovation, competitiveness and creativity needed to achieve these goals.

United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI)

UNICRI’s work focuses on Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Agenda, which is centred on promoting peaceful, just and inclusive societies, free from crime and violence. Justice, crime prevention and the rule of law are the basis for fighting poverty and reducing inequalities while enhancing economic growth and stability, and protecting the environment. UNICRI supports governments and the international community at large in tackling criminal threats to social peace, development and political stability.

UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

UNODC is committed to supporting Member States in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The 2030 Agenda recognizes that the rule of law and fair, effective and humane justice systems, as well as health-oriented responses to drug use, are both enablers for, and part of sustainable development.

• General Assembly
• Security Council
• Economic and Social Council
• Trusteeship Council
• International Court of Justice

Departments / Offices

• UN System Directory
• UN System Chart
• Global Leadership
• UN Information Centres

Resources / Services

• Emergency information
• Reporting Wrongdoing
• Guidelines for gender-inclusive language
• UN iLibrary
• UN Chronicle
• UN Yearbook
• Publications for sale
• Media Accreditation
• NGO accreditation at ECOSOC
• NGO accreditation at DGC
• Visitors’ services
• Procurement
• Internships
• Academic Impact
• UN Archives
• UN Audiovisual Library
• How to donate to the UN system
• Information on COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
• Africa Renewal
• Ten ways the UN makes a difference
• GA High-level week 2024

Key Documents

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Statute of the International Court of Justice
• Annual Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization

News and Media

• Press Releases
• Spokesperson
• Social Media
• The Essential UN
• Awake at Night podcast

Issues / Campaigns

• Sustainable Development Goals
• Our Common Agenda
• The Summit of the Future
• Climate Action
• Action for Peacekeeping (A4P)
• Global Crisis Response Group
• Call to Action for Human Rights
• Disability Inclusion Strategy
• Fight Racism
• Hate Speech
• LGBTIQ+ People
• Safety of Journalists
• Rule of Law
• Action to Counter Terrorism
• Victims of Terrorism
• Children and Armed Conflict
• Violence Against Children (SRSG)
• Sexual Violence in Conflict
• Refugees and Migrants
• Action Agenda on Internal Displacement
• Spotlight Initiative
• Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
• Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect
• The Rwanda Genocide
• The Holocaust
• The Question of Palestine
• The Transatlantic Slave Trade
• Decolonization
• Messengers of Peace
• Roadmap for Digital Cooperation
• Digital Financing Task Force
• Data Strategy
• Information Integrity
• Countering Disinformation
• UN75: 2020 and Beyond
• Women Rise for All
• Stop the Red Sea Catastrophe
• Black Sea Grain Initiative Joint Coordination Centre

Fighting climate change

The science is clear, global temperature rise is a reality. According to reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we have just a short amount of time before climate change becomes irreversible and will likely trigger feedback loops that will further increase the average temperature of our planet. At Clariant, we take our role in preventing such a scenario from becoming reality seriously. With the vision to become climate neutral by 2050, we have set ourselves ambitious science-based climate targets in line with the Science Based Targets initiative’s guidance framework. We are committed to acting upon the guidance provided by sound science to transform our business and allow for sustainable growth. Sustainable growth means reducing emissions within our operations and across our value chain, and mitigating climate risk and seizing its opportunities, with high-performing innovative solutions for a low carbon economy for the benefit of customers and society.

As our climate gives us increasing and alarming signals of change, individuals and industries are looking for ways to reduce their environmental footprints. Our solutions support our customers with the transition to a climate neutral economy. Learn more about the carbon handprint innovations in our portfolio.

• sunliquid® - on a straight-as-straw path to sustainable success Sourcing energy from biomass can be a great way to decarbonize our economies and increase sustainability in the transport sector. Since its beginnings in 2006, Clariant’s sunliquid® process for turning agricultural residues into second-generation biofuels has reached one major milestone after another. more
• The magic crystals that turn In fairy tales and movies, magic crystals have a long history of fulfilling important wishes at just the right moment – which is often the very last. Wouldn’t it be great if there were one for saving the climate? Well, there actually are crystals that, while not capable of completely saving it on their own, can do a lot to help the climate. more
• Beyond the Electric Car Say “sustainable car technology” and the conversation you’re having will likely leap to a Prius or Tesla and the magnificent miles they drive on relatively little or no gas. But there is a world of chemical advances out there that help make cars more sustainable, beyond engines that run on battery. more
• Green Power As the climate gives us increasing and alarming signals of change, individuals and industries are looking for ways to reduce their environmental footprint. But how do we balance our hunger for power with our fear for the future? With sustainability being a key element of the company’s strategy, Clariant actively supports an effective solution, the fuel cell: a device that creates electricity from fuel and oxygen, emitting only water and heat, thus making it a clean, green means of energy production. more
• Reststoff2Kraftstoff Clariant is part of the research team testing how climate-friendly fuels can be produced from paper waste. more
• 25 years of supporting change - Clariant untiring pursuit of environmental excellence Like the cells in our body, chemical plants need energy and resources to make the countless useful products they provide – just in much larger amounts. Clariant has always worked to keep these amounts as low as possible, and is constantly finding new ways to downsize its environmental footprint. more
• January 31, 2020 Clariant achieves 100% green electricity consumption at Knapsack production site Clariant will continue to power its BU Additives production facility in Knapsack, Germany, solely with 100% renewable electricity following the site’s successful pilot switch one year ago. This underlines Clariant’s continued efforts of shifting to the use of renewables for its electricity demand, lowering the impact on climate change. more
• Collaboration with WeForest The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is one of the most biodiverse forests in the world and provides a home for many native species. Only around 7% of the forest remains, scattered over a large area. Its restoration is vital to safeguarding biodiversity and mitigating climate change more
• Renewable Feedstock​ Products with significant (at least 50% RCI) content based on renewable resources with a mass-balance certification or real renewable content more
• Tackling greenhouse gas emissions, one handprint at a time Catalytic innovations that are helping decarbonize the chemical industry today. more

The societal and economic challenges coming with the transformation toward climate neutrality call for collaboration that goes well beyond the technological, creative and innovative capacities of one single company. For this reason, Clariant is active in global sustainability initiatives, regional innovation platforms and trade associations. Our engagements include:

Clariant is a supporter of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) initiative. We are committed to implementing its recommendations so that investors, lenders and insurers receive reliable, decision-useful, climate-related information and, at the same time, we improve Clariant’s strategic resilience to climate change.

Clariant is among the founding members of the World Economic Forum’s Low Carbon Emitting Technologies Initiative (LCET). The objective of this climate-flagship initiative, hosted by the World Economic Forum and supported by the Mission Possible Partnership, is to jointly accelerate the development of low-carbon emitting technologies for chemical production and related value chains. The initiative is the first CEO-led coalition in the chemical industry focused on transformation towards a decarbonized and circular future. The collaboration aims to pilot projects in order to share early-stage risks and to co-fund the development and upscaling of low-carbon-emitting technologies such as hydrogen generation in low-carbon emission processes, the use of CO2 and biomass as feedstocks, and the overall electrification of chemical processes – all areas which are highly relevant for Clariant.

Clariant is also a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development , a cross industry network of leaders on all sustainability related topics. We actively participate in working groups such as SOS 1.5 and Climate Policy. These initiatives support the efforts related to our science-based climate targets and enable Clariant to exchange best practice, put ambitions into action and also promote a progressive industry voice, at a global level, connecting experiences across different industry sectors.

Clariant is a member of A.SPIRE , the private association behind the Processes4Planet public private partnership with the European Commission. Processes4Planet aims – through innovation actions and project funding – to develop and deploy cross-sectorial climate neutral solutions closing the energy and feedstock loops. These innovations are needed for a transformation of European process industries to achieve overall climate neutrality at EU level by 2050 and enhanced global competitiveness.

Clariant supports other sectorial initiatives which are closely connected to its business priorities, namely in support of policy frameworks that can enable the company to secure a faster deployment of sustainable, advanced biofuels. These currently include the Advanced Biofuels Coalition , a coalition of leading advanced biofuels producers and technology providers committed to making a strong contribution to meet the EU ambitions of reducing transport emissions, and ePure (www.epure.org), which represents member interests in the European renewable ethanol industry.

In the area of hydrogen, Clariant supports the Hydrogen Council and its ambitions to foster the clean energy transformation and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Page summary