The Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals: evolving connections

The document compares 63 first and updated NDC submissions to assess their alignment with the 2030 Agenda. While updated NDCs are longer and contain more activities, the authors find that the share of quantified targets remains low for most SDGs. There is a notable increase in activities addressing social dimensions—specifically gender equality, reduced inequalities, and inclusive participation—but a concerning decrease in activities linking climate change to food security, water, and land use. Economic activities have generally increased in number, though energy access and affordability have seen a decline in priority.

• Updated NDCs are significantly longer and contain more activities than original submissions, with an aggregate increase of almost 29% in activities. However, the authors conclude that this increase in document length does not necessarily reflect a rise in ambition.
• Quantification of climate activities has increased in updated NDCs, rising from 12% to 24%. Despite this, the share of quantified activities for most SDGs remains below 20%, and some social goals, such as Gender Equality (Goal 5), Reduced Inequality (Goal 10), and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (Goal 16), have no quantifiable climate activities.
• There is a strong increase in activities targeting the social dimension of sustainability, particularly regarding gender equality, reduced inequalities, and inclusive participation. Activities for Goal 5 and Goal 10 increased threefold, while Goal 16 saw a fifteenfold increase.
• Climate activities focusing on critical environmental sectors—specifically food (Goal 2), water (Goal 6), and land use/biodiversity (Goal 15)—have decreased in both absolute and relative terms. This is noted as problematic because these sectors are essential for reducing emissions and increasing resilience.
• While energy (Goal 7) remains the most prominent area of climate policy, there is a decrease in the number and share of activities addressing energy access and affordability (Target 7.1).
• In the economic dimension, there is a growing emphasis on resource mobilization and domestic support, including partnerships with the private sector and civil society, whereas requests for technology transfer and capacity building have declined.

APA

Dzebo, A., Iacobușa, G. I., & Beaussart, R. (2023). The Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals: evolving connections. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sei-brief-paris-agenda-2030-connections-dzebo-may-2023.pdf

Chicago

Dzebo, Adis, Gabriela Ileana Iacobușa, and Raphaèlle Beaussart. The Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals: evolving connections. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2023. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sei-brief-paris-agenda-2030-connections-dzebo-may-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dzebo |first1=Adis |last2=Iacobușa |first2=Gabriela Ileana |last3=Beaussart |first3=Raphaèlle |title=The Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals: evolving connections |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=May 2023 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sei-brief-paris-agenda-2030-connections-dzebo-may-2023.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dzebo2023paris, author = {Dzebo, Adis and Iacobușa, Gabriela Ileana and Beaussart, Raphaèlle}, title = {{The Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals: evolving connections}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sei-brief-paris-agenda-2030-connections-dzebo-may-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }