The Sustainable Development Goals: Will they deliver climate compatible development for vulnerable countries?

This 2014 working paper by CDKN evaluates the integration of climate change into the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Based on dialogues in Colombia, Indonesia, and Kenya, it argues that while a stand-alone climate goal is necessary for political visibility and funding, climate objectives must also be mainstreamed across all goals to avoid siloing. The paper identifies gaps in the draft SDGs—particularly regarding health, education, and gender—and emphasizes the need for nationally relevant indicators, robust governance, and a shift toward private sector investment and public-private partnerships to achieve climate-resilient development.

• The convergence of the post-Kyoto climate deal, the post-2015 SDGs, and a new disaster risk reduction framework in 2015 presents a unique opportunity to align international policies and promote climate compatible development, which aims for long-term sustainable development outcomes resilient to climate change.
• The Open Working Group's (OWG) draft SDGs include climate change as a stand-alone goal (Goal 13) and reference it in other targets, but the current draft lacks quantitative targets for mitigation or the reduction of adverse climate impacts on vulnerable populations.
• There is a significant debate regarding the structure of climate integration in the SDGs, with options ranging from narrative mentions and mainstreaming across all goals to a stand-alone goal or a combination of both. Some stakeholders fear that a stand-alone goal without mainstreaming would lead to 'siloing', while others argue that mainstreaming alone might make climate change 'non-existent'.
• Stakeholders from national dialogues in Colombia, Indonesia, and Kenya emphasized that climate goals, targets, and indicators must be nationally relevant and flexible enough to align with national development plans, such as green growth strategies, without hindering economic growth.
• The document identifies several 'climate gaps' in the OWG's draft SDGs where climate impacts are omitted, including the effects of climate change on tropical diseases (Goal 3), the disruption of education by disasters (Goal 4), gendered impacts of disasters (Goal 5), and ocean acidification (Goal 14).
• Effective implementation of the SDGs will require robust national governance and accountability mechanisms, as well as the mobilization of dedicated technical and financial resources to avoid the under-funding issues associated with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
• The role of the private sector and sub-national governments is expected to increase in delivering climate compatible solutions, shifting from a reliance on bilateral finance toward investment and public-private partnerships (PPPs).
• Kenya's National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP), launched in March 2013, is cited as a model for integrating development and adaptation, identifying six 'big wins' including geothermal power, clean energy solutions, water resource management, forest restoration, climate-smart agriculture, and infrastructure.

APA

Picot, H., & Moss, N. (2014). The Sustainable Development Goals: Will they deliver climate compatible development for vulnerable countries? Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/CDKN_SDGs_WP_final_low-res.pdf

Chicago

Picot, Helen, and Nicholas Moss. The Sustainable Development Goals: Will they deliver climate compatible development for vulnerable countries? Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2014. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/CDKN_SDGs_WP_final_low-res.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Picot |first1=Helen |last2=Moss |first2=Nicholas |title=The Sustainable Development Goals: Will they deliver climate compatible development for vulnerable countries? |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=September 2014 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/CDKN_SDGs_WP_final_low-res.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{picot2014sustainable, author = {Picot, Helen and Moss, Nicholas}, title = {{The Sustainable Development Goals: Will they deliver climate compatible development for vulnerable countries?}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, month = sep, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/CDKN_SDGs_WP_final_low-res.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }