Sustainable Development Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Climate change presents the single biggest threat to development, and its widespread, unprecedented impacts disproportionately burden the poorest and most vulnerable. Every country in the world is seeing the drastic effects of climate change, some more than others. 

On average, the annual losses just from earthquakes, tsunamis, and tropical cyclones and flooding count in the hundreds of billions of dollars. We can reduce the loss of life and property by helping more vulnerable regions such as land-locked countries and island states become more resilient. 

It is still possible, with the political will and technological measures, to limit the increase in global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and thus avoid the worst effects of climate change. The Sustainable Development Goals lay out a way for countries to work together to meet this urgent challenge.

Urgent action to combat climate change and minimize its disruptions is integral to the successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The global nature of climate change calls for broad international cooperation in building resilience and adaptive capacity to its adverse effects, developing sustainable low-carbon pathways to the future, and accelerating the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions. On 22 April 2016, 175 Member States signed the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The new agreement aims to reduce the pace of climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low-carbon future.

Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are responsible for providing a range of national reports on their efforts to implement the agreement. As of 4 April 2016, 161 intended nationally determined contributions, from 189 of the 197 Parties to the Framework Convention (the European Commission submitted one joint intended determined contribution) had been recorded by the secretariat of the Framework Convention, providing insights into the efforts many countries are taking to integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning. 

Among those countries, 137 parties included an adaptation component in their intended nationally determined contributions. Some countries stressed that adaptation was their main climate change priority, with strong linkages to other aspects of national development, sustainability and security. In order to help countries move forward on climate action, a global stocktaking was established, in the context of the Paris Agreement, to assess collective progress every five years. 

The process will begin in 2018, with a facilitative dialogue to review the efforts of parties towards emissions reductions and to inform the preparation of final nationally determined contributions.

Climate change is already affecting the most vulnerable countries and populations, in particular the least developed countries and the small island developing States. 

The preparation of national adaptation programmes of action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is helping the least developed countries address urgent and immediate needs, with support from the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Least Developed Countries Expert Group. In addition, the implementation of national adaptation programmes of action will help the least developed countries prepare and seek funding for comprehensive national adaptation plans, thereby reducing their risk of being left behind.

Climate change brings extreme weather and less access to food and water. The Paris Agreement obliges all countries to do what they can to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. If we act now we can avoid the most severe consequences.

SDG No. 13 has set out a number of global targets which countries need to take ownership of and define the specific responsibilities and targets befalling them.

Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.

Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.

Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible.

Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities.

There is a common responsibility falling on all states to protect the environment. ... This responsibility should be extended to all organisations and individuals globally. 

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