Climate and Development: The Role of the Sustainable Development Goals

This chapter explores climate-related trade-offs and synergies in meeting development objectives, as reflected by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Using Climate Action (SDG 13) as our benchmark indicator, we estimate the per capita welfare change associated with achieving this goal net of any gains or losses in attaining the other SDGs. We conduct this analysis for the world and for low-income countries. Globally, the loss from the rise in CO2 per capita over 2000–2016 amounts to $311 per person. But, as indicators for eleven other SDGs improved, there was an overall net gain of $12,737 per capita. For low-income countries, CO2 emissions declined over 2000–2016 with an estimated benefit of $31 per person. However, once positive and negative interactions with other SDGs are taken into account, the net welfare gain in poor economies is only $244 per person. This chapter also examines the implications of our SDG analysis for climate and development objectives beyond 2030. Current trends suggest that increased growth in per capita incomes in low- and middle-income countries has been accompanied by increasing emissions and worsening future climate scenarios, which may seriously undermine other development goals. Addressing this trade-off is critical over the coming decades.