SDG 13: Climate Action

SDG 13: Climate Action

If your research contributes to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action add the keyword "SDG 13", "SDG13: Climate Action" and/or "Sustainable Development Goals" to your article/book/chapter/conference paper/ dataset and we will automatically add it to this rapidly growing collection of research outputs. See the instructions here. 

The year 2019 was the second warmest on record and the end of the warmest decade, 2010 to 2019. In addition, with a global average temperature of 1.1°C above estimated pre-industrial levels, the global community is far off track to meet either the 1.5 or 2°C targets called for in the Paris Agreement. Although greenhouse gas emissions are projected to drop by 6 per cent in 2020, and air quality has improved as a result of travel bans and the economic slowdown resulting from the pandemic, the improvement is only temporary. Governments and businesses should utilize the lessons learned to accelerate the transitions needed to achieve the Paris Agreement, redefine the relationship with the environment and make systemic shifts and transformational changes to lower greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient economies and societies.

A total of 85 countries have reported having a national disaster risk reduction strategy aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030  to some extent since its adoption in 2015. In 2018, 55 countries reported that at least some of their local governments had a local disaster risk reduction strategy aimed at contributing to sustainable development and strengthening socioeconomic health and environmental resilience by focusing on poverty eradication, urban resilience and climate change adaptation.

As at 31 March 2020, 186 parties (185 countries plus the European Union) had communicated their first nationally determined contribution, and several parties had communicated their second or updated nationally determined contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Parties have been requested to update existing nationally determined contributions or communicate new ones by 2020, providing a valuable opportunity for parties to increase their level of ambition in climate action.

In 2019, at least 120 of 153 developing countries had undertaken activities to formulate and implement national adaptation plans, an increase of 29 countries, compared with 2018. The plans will help countries achieve the global goal on adaptation under the Paris Agreement.

With regard to global climate finance, there was an increase of $584 billion, or 17 per cent, from 2013 to 2014 and of $681 billion from 2015 to 2016. High levels of new private investment in renewable energy account for the spurt in growth and represent the largest segment of the global total. While these financial flows are considerable, they are relatively small in relation to the scale of annual investment needed for a low-carbon, climate-resilient transition. Moreover, investments in climate activities tracked across sectors were still surpassed by those related to fossil fuels in the energy sector alone ($781 billion in 2016).

Source: Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, Report of the Secretary-General, https://undocs.org/en/E/2020/57

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If your research contributes to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action add the keyword "SDG 13", "SDG13: Climate Action" and/or "Sustainable Development Goals" to your article/book/chapter/conference paper/ dataset and we will automatically add it to this rapidly growing collection of research outputs. See the instructions here: 

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4. Add the relevant SDG(s) to the keyword section, for example "SDG 1" or "SDG1: No poverty" and/or "Sustainable Development Goals" and then hit save! Your article will now be automatically added to the relevant collection within 24 hours. You can also add a lay summary, catchy image, disciplines and data availability statements to your work to increase its visibility.

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