SDGs and the environment in the EU: A systems view to improve coherence

The report applies the SDG Synergies approach to eight environmental targets in the EU to identify synergies and trade-offs with other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It finds that while most interactions are promoting, significant trade-offs exist, particularly with SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). Targets 12.4 (chemicals and waste management) and 13.1 (climate adaptation) are identified as having the highest synergistic potential to drive overall progress on the 2030 Agenda in the EU context.

• The analysis identifies Target 12.4 (environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes) and Target 13.1 (climate adaptation and disaster resilience) as having the highest synergistic potential among the eight environmental targets studied in the EU.
• Across the 21 goals and targets analyzed for the EU, approximately 70% of interactions were found to be promoting, while less than 20% were restricting.
• SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) is identified as one of the most challenging goals, as it was assessed to hinder progress on all selected environmental targets except for Target 13.1.
• Progress on environmental targets in the EU is generally mutually supportive of SDG 3, 4, 5, 6, 16, and 17, but faces more challenging relationships with SDG 1, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.
• Second-order (indirect) interactions can reveal hidden trade-offs; for example, while Target 13.2 (climate mainstreaming) directly promotes SDG 7 (Clean Energy), progress on SDG 7 can indirectly restrict progress on five environmental targets and SDGs 2 and 6.
• The report highlights a specific short-term trade-off where wind power expansion, promoted by EU energy policy to meet climate goals, can negatively impact biodiversity and ecosystems through habitat loss and bird/bat mortality.
• SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) were found to have the strongest overall positive influence on all other targets and goals in the EU analysis.

APA

Weitz, N., Carlsen, H., Skånberg, K., Dzebo, A., & Viaud, V. (2019). SDGs and the environment in the EU: A systems view to improve coherence. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/sei-2019-pr-weitz-sdg-synergies-eu-env.pdf

Chicago

Weitz, Nina, Henrik Carlsen, Kristian Skånberg, Adis Dzebo, and Vincent Viaud. SDGs and the environment in the EU: A systems view to improve coherence. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2019. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/sei-2019-pr-weitz-sdg-synergies-eu-env.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{weitz2019sdgs, author = {Weitz, Nina and Carlsen, Henrik and Skånberg, Kristian and Dzebo, Adis and Viaud, Vincent}, title = {{SDGs and the environment in the EU: A systems view to improve coherence}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2019}, month = oct, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/sei-2019-pr-weitz-sdg-synergies-eu-env.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }