26 October 2017
UN Report Identifies Options for Integrating Pre-2020 Climate Action and SDGs
Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
story highlights

The report showcases good practices and policies that integrate adaptation and mitigation actions with the principles, priorities and objectives of the Sendai Framework for DRR, the SDGs and other national and international frameworks.

It identifies common challenges to mitigation and adaptation action confronted by Parties, subnational actors, civil society organizations and other stakeholders, and presents technologies and actions that can be scaled up and replicated, along with actions policymakers can take.

23 October 2017: In preparation for the UN Climate Change Conference, the UN Climate Change Secretariat has issued a report, titled ‘Climate Action Now: Summary for Policymakers,’ outlining concrete examples of successful climate policy implementation around the world, and ways to replicate and scale up such action between now and 2020.

The report showcases good practices and policies that integrate adaptation and mitigation actions with the principles, priorities and objectives of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other national and international frameworks. It identifies common challenges to mitigation and adaptation action confronted by Parties, subnational actors, civil society organizations and other stakeholders, and presents technologies and actions that can be scaled up and replicated. The report also outlines actions policymakers can take, including partnerships and resources for support.

The Summary for Policymakers proposes overcoming obstacles to integration through coordination and coherence, data and information, financial and technical support, and low-emission policies and technology solutions.

The key messages to policymakers highlighted in the report are: coordination and coherence between climate action and sustainable development is required; opportunities for integration exist at all levels; and data and information are needed for a wide range of indicators. Among benefits of integration, the report underscores mitigation benefits related to land use and urban environment, and integration between adaptation, sustainable development and DRR. It proposes overcoming obstacles to integration through coordination and coherence, data and information, financial and technical support, and low-emission policies and technology solutions.

The publication also identifies resources and opportunities for implementation, including for: pursuing sectoral planning approaches that integrate concerns and offer solutions relating to adaptation, mitigation, risk reduction and sustainable development; planning collaboratively, bringing together relevant actors, encouraging coherence of actions, and making efficient use of available capacities; working closely with vulnerable people and communities; and creating policy incentives that encourage action on mitigation and adaptation with related co-benefits.

The document is based on recommendations emanating from Technical Expert Meetings (TEMs) on mitigation (TEM-M) and adaptation (TEM-A) held in May 2017 in Bonn, Germany. TEMs highlight the “what, why and how” of pre-2020 climate action with the objective of pursuing implementation of scalable, best-practice policies for climate change mitigation and adaptation. [Climate Action Now: Summary for Policymakers] [UN Climate Change Press Release]


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