A UN report prepared by a group of independent experts finds that tailoring synergistic strategies to the country context ensures that investments are targeted and climate action delivers multiple social, economic, and environmental benefits. It also highlights the vital role of countries’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs) in aligning climate action with sustainable development and the SDGs. 

The Third Global Report on Climate and SDGs Synergies titled, ‘Harnessing Climate and SDG Synergy: Quantifying the Benefits,’ comes at a critical time as countries prepare their new climate plans ahead of the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 30). With only five years remaining until the 2030 Agenda’s time horizon, accelerating action on the SDGs is also key.

The report finds that joint action on climate and sustainable development can generate up to 37% greater efficiency, “freeing resources and maximizing co-benefits across people, planet, and prosperity.” With the SDG financing gap currently measured at more than USD 4 trillion annually and the climate financing gap estimated at USD 6 trillion per year, the report argues that “synergistic action is not optional but the most efficient and impactful path forward.”

According to the report, aligning synergistic strategies with country-specific development and climate objectives helps direct investments where they are most needed, minimizes duplication and trade-offs, and ensures effective, efficient, and equitable use of resources. In particular, it underscores the need to invest in adaptation to maximize the effect of synergistic approaches as adaptation generates multiple development co-benefits, including improving livelihoods, health, infrastructure, and community resilience, while complementing mitigation efforts.

The report highlights the importance of private finance to scale synergistic climate and development strategies. It recommends that governments align incentives, demonstrate economic value, and reduce risk to leverage private funding to amplify the impact of synergistic approaches and unlock additional climate and development co-benefits.

The report illustrates how integrated approaches to biodiversity protection, urban management, and finance can generate co-benefits for health, ecosystems, and vulnerable communities. For example, it shows that long-term benefits of conserving biodiversity and restoring ecosystems, manifested in a stable climate and better health, outweigh costs. Nature-based Solutions (NbS), it reveals, could deliver up to 37% of cost-effective carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation by 2030. Yet, it warns, “a USD 700 billion biodiversity gap and USD 359 billion adaptation gap persist” amid harmful subsidies.

The report emphasizes the importance of quantifying the benefits of synergistic action to help policymakers make efficient investments and develop coordinated, whole-of-government approaches. It also suggests synergies “will be central to informing a post-2030 development framework,” to ensure transition pathways are people-centered, inclusive, and just.

Developed by the independent Expert Group on Climate and SDGs Synergies, co-convened by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the UNFCCC Secretariat, the report was launched on 24 September, to coincide with the Climate Summit 2025, which took place during the High-Level Week of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). During the Summit, nearly 100 countries shared plans for or updated their NDCs. [Publication: Harnessing Climate and SDG Synergy: Quantifying the Benefits] [Publication Landing Page] [DESA News Release] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on 2024 Global Report] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on 2023 Global Report]