Statement of Kaveh Guilanpour
Vice President of International Strategies, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES)
September 13, 2023
Today the Expert Group on Climate and SDG Synergies released the First Global Report on Climate and SDG Synergies Strategies. Kaveh Guilanpour, part of the Expert Group, issued the following statement:
“A key conclusion of the report is that synergistic action is essential to achieve the goals of both the Paris Agreement, including limiting global heating to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius — and achieving the sustainable development goals pursuant to Agenda 2030. At the same time the report goes beyond this headline to consider two questions: Why is synergistic action not happening at the necessary level? What needs to be done to make it happen?
“The report sets out ten forward-looking recommendations for accelerated action on climate and SDGs synergies, including that COP28 must be used effectively to initiate and accelerate synergistic action on climate and SDGs.
“More specifically COP28 should ask countries to: address SDG implementation in new NDCs due to be submitted in 2025, better report on progress in relation to climate and synergies, highlight through the global stocktake opportunities for enhanced climate ambition and implementation through climate and development synergies, update the guidance on NDCs to require information on synergies with SDGs, and urge synergies with SDGs to form a key consideration in the formulation and updating of long term low emission development strategies.
“In its latest paper on the global stocktake — due to culminate at COP28 — C2ES sets out a number of key solutions that countries could usefully adopt to make rapid progress on climate action. SDG synergies with effective climate action form a central part of this paper.
“If countries are serious about achieving net-zero emissions and resilience to the impacts of climate change, they have no choice but to look at climate action through the lens of sustainable development. The recommendations in the report provide a solid foundation for enhanced international cooperation and a much needed move away from zero-sum confrontational approach that has characterized the international climate negotiations. COP28 and the global stocktake need to be a milestone in that change of approach.”
Read C2ES’s technical paper, A Solutions-Oriented Approach to the GST.
To reach a C2ES expert, contact Nora Zacharski at press@c2es.org.
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About C2ES: The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) works to secure a safe and stable climate, by accelerating the global transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and a thriving, just, and resilient economy. Learn more at www.c2es.org.