The Sustainable Development Goals viewed through a climate lens

The document argues that while there is significant global potential for policy coherence between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda, this must be translated into national-level implementation. Using the NDC-SDG Connections tool, the authors analyzed over 7,000 climate activities, finding strong synergies in energy, agriculture, and water. However, it warns that trade-offs—such as bioenergy competing with food security for land—are rarely documented in policy papers and must be proactively managed to avoid maladaptation.

• Analysis of 164 NDCs and over 7,000 climate activities indicates a high potential for policy coherence between the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement at a global level, though translating this to national implementation remains a challenge.
• Energy-related NDC activities show strong synergies with SDGs 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, and 13, often linking energy efficiency to education or requiring international partnerships and financial support (SDG 17). However, they show almost no links to SDGs 1, 6, and 15, suggesting potential trade-offs where bioenergy may threaten biodiversity or compete for water and soil.
• Agricultural NDC activities are primarily linked to SDG 2 and have strong connections to SDG 6 (via irrigation and water management) and SDG 15 (via soil management and agroforestry). There is a notable lack of connection to energy (SDG 7), with less than 1.5% of agriculture activities relating to it, which may mask conflicts over arable land for bioenergy or solar power.
• Water-themed NDC activities primarily support SDG 6 but also link to SDG 3 (health and well-being), SDG 12 (waste-water treatment), and SDG 13. The authors highlight that rising demands for water could lead to sectoral competition and maladaptive practices if trade-offs are not managed.
• Social issues, including health (SDG 3), education (SDG 4), gender equality (SDG 5), and inequality (SDG 10), are underrepresented in current NDCs despite the high confidence that climate change will adversely impact these areas.
• Trade-offs are rarely mentioned in international policy documents and are harder to identify than synergies, but they must be anticipated early to avoid undermining policy implementation. The authors suggest integrating a chapter on challenges in NDCs and considering trade-offs in the UNFCCC global stocktake and Green Climate Fund financing processes.

APA

Dzebo, A., Janetschek, H., Brandi, C., & Iacobuta, G. (2018). The Sustainable Development Goals viewed through a climate lens. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/climate-action-sdgs-pb-corrected.pdf

Chicago

Dzebo, Adis, Hannah Janetschek, Clara Brandi, and Gabriela Iacobuta. The Sustainable Development Goals viewed through a climate lens. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2018. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/climate-action-sdgs-pb-corrected.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dzebo |first1=Adis |last2=Janetschek |first2=Hannah |last3=Brandi |first3=Clara |last4=Iacobuta |first4=Gabriela |title=The Sustainable Development Goals viewed through a climate lens |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=December 2018 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/climate-action-sdgs-pb-corrected.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dzebo2018sustainable, author = {Dzebo, Adis and Janetschek, Hannah and Brandi, Clara and Iacobuta, Gabriela}, title = {{The Sustainable Development Goals viewed through a climate lens}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2018}, month = dec, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/climate-action-sdgs-pb-corrected.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }