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A sustainable development pathway for climate action within the UN 2030 Agenda

Author

Listed:
  • Bjoern Soergel

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Elmar Kriegler

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association
    Universität Potsdam)

  • Isabelle Weindl

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Sebastian Rauner

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Alois Dirnaichner

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Constantin Ruhe

    (Goethe-Universität
    German Development Institute—Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE))

  • Matthias Hofmann

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Nico Bauer

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Christoph Bertram

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Benjamin Leon Bodirsky

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Marian Leimbach

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Julia Leininger

    (German Development Institute—Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE))

  • Antoine Levesque

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Gunnar Luderer

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association
    Technische Universität Berlin)

  • Michaja Pehl

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Christopher Wingens

    (German Development Institute—Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE))

  • Lavinia Baumstark

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Felicitas Beier

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Jan Philipp Dietrich

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Florian Humpenöder

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Patrick Jeetze

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • David Klein

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Johannes Koch

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Robert Pietzcker

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Jessica Strefler

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Hermann Lotze-Campen

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association
    Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

  • Alexander Popp

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association)

Abstract

Ambitious climate policies, as well as economic development, education, technological progress and less resource-intensive lifestyles, are crucial elements for progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, using an integrated modelling framework covering 56 indicators or proxies across all 17 SDGs, we show that they are insufficient to reach the targets. An additional sustainable development package, including international climate finance, progressive redistribution of carbon pricing revenues, sufficient and healthy nutrition and improved access to modern energy, enables a more comprehensive sustainable development pathway. We quantify climate and SDG outcomes, showing that these interventions substantially boost progress towards many aspects of the UN Agenda 2030 and simultaneously facilitate reaching ambitious climate targets. Nonetheless, several important gaps remain; for example, with respect to the eradication of extreme poverty (180 million people remaining in 2030). These gaps can be closed by 2050 for many SDGs while also respecting the 1.5 °C target and several other planetary boundaries.

Suggested Citation

  • Bjoern Soergel & Elmar Kriegler & Isabelle Weindl & Sebastian Rauner & Alois Dirnaichner & Constantin Ruhe & Matthias Hofmann & Nico Bauer & Christoph Bertram & Benjamin Leon Bodirsky & Marian Leimbac, 2021. "A sustainable development pathway for climate action within the UN 2030 Agenda," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 11(8), pages 656-664, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:11:y:2021:i:8:d:10.1038_s41558-021-01098-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-021-01098-3
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    7. Ana Raquel Nunes, 2023. "Mapping interactions between sustainable development and heatwave resilience," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(11), pages 12707-12733, November.
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    9. Rising, James A. & Taylor, Charlotte & Ives, Matthew C. & Ward, Robert E.T., 2022. "Challenges and innovations in the economic evaluation of the risks of climate change," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
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