Examining the Alignment Between the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions and Sustainable Development Goals

The paper finds that climate actions across examined INDCs align with 154 of the 169 SDG targets, demonstrating significant potential for mutual benefits between climate and development agendas. While global alignment is high, the authors note that few countries explicitly referenced SDGs in their INDCs, often due to separate institutional oversight between environment and development ministries. Case studies of Colombia and Uganda show high goal-level alignment, though target-level alignment varies based on national priorities. The document advocates for a 'whole-of-government' approach to maximize resources and avoid implementation silos.

• A global analysis of climate actions across examined INDCs revealed alignment with 154 out of the 169 SDG targets.
• Despite the high level of convergence, very few countries explicitly mentioned the SDGs, their predecessors (the Millennium Development Goals), or national development priorities within their INDC communications.
• Institutional fragmentation often occurs because the Paris Agreement and INDCs are typically managed by environment ministries, while the SDGs are handled by foreign affairs, development, planning, or economic ministries.
• In the case of Colombia, climate actions in its INDC aligned with 40 of the 169 SDG targets, with strong alignment in goals related to life on land, partnerships, clean energy, economic growth, and peace and justice.
• Uganda's INDC showed alignment with 56 of the 169 SDG targets, particularly those concerning clean energy, water and sanitation, health, zero hunger, and life on land.
• The energy sector is a primary driver for both agendas, as energy contributes roughly two-thirds of all anthropogenic GHG emissions, and increasing the global share of renewables by 2030 could provide half of the emissions reductions needed to limit warming to 2°C.
• Climate change disproportionately affects women, who are often the first to feel impacts due to their roles in managing subsistence resources and their limited access to decision-making processes.
• The authors identify three types of linkages: mutual benefits (synergies for both), sustainable development co-benefits (climate action aiding SDGs), and climate co-benefits (SDG action aiding climate goals).

APA

Northrop, E., Biru, H., Lima, S., Bouye, M., & Song, R. (2016). Examining the Alignment Between the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions and Sustainable Development Goals. World Resources Institute. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/WRI_INDCs_v5.pdf

Chicago

Northrop, Eliza, Hana Biru, Sylvia Lima, Mathilde Bouye, and Ranping Song. Examining the Alignment Between the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions and Sustainable Development Goals. World Resources Institute, 2016. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/WRI_INDCs_v5.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Northrop |first1=Eliza |last2=Biru |first2=Hana |last3=Lima |first3=Sylvia |last4=Bouye |first4=Mathilde |last5=Song |first5=Ranping |title=Examining the Alignment Between the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions and Sustainable Development Goals |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=September 2016 |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/WRI_INDCs_v5.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{northrop2016examining, author = {Northrop, Eliza and Biru, Hana and Lima, Sylvia and Bouye, Mathilde and Song, Ranping}, title = {{Examining the Alignment Between the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions and Sustainable Development Goals}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2016}, month = sep, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/WRI_INDCs_v5.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }