On 16 July 2024, UNU-IAS contributed to a special event of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in New York, on the theme Bridging the Ambition Gap for the Future We Want through Climate and SDGs Synergy.
The event featured the launch of the 2024 Global Report on Climate and SDG Synergies, developed by a group of independent experts co-convened by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and UN Climate Change (UNFCCC Secretariat). It provides a roadmap for policymakers with concrete recommendations on how to realize synergistic climate and SDG actions on the ground.
Speaking in a roundtable on Seeking Synergy Solutions and the Role of Knowledge and Data and Cities to Accelerate Climate and SDGs in Synergy, Shinobu Yume Yamaguchi (Director, UNU-IAS) stressed the unique role of cities in synergistic solutions to accelerate climate action and SDG progress.
Half of the world’s population resides in cities and urban areas, generating between 71% and 76% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Prof. Yamaguchi underlined that if cities become platforms for synergistic action, the potential for transformative change could be enormous.
Drawing on UNU research, she highlighted three urgent efforts required. First, systemic efforts are needed to deliver integrated climate action planning and coherent infrastructure policies. Effective multi-level governance is also necessary to ensure the successful implementation of synergistic solutions in cities and in building integrated data collection efforts. Prof. Yamaguchi emphasized the importance of having national and local governments, civil society, the private sector, and citizens working together to foster cross-agency coordination. The third point she highlighted was building capacity and enhancing knowledge utilization in cities, explaining that we must also focus on enhancing the capacity of policymakers to deliver on the SDGs and the Paris Agreement together. This includes investing in education and training programs that build the skills necessary for climate action planning, monitoring and reporting, data analysis, interpretation and application.
The event was co-organized by UN DESA and UN Climate Change.
A recording of the event is available on UN Web TV.
