External publications

The 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement: voluntary contributions towards thematic policy coherence

Janetschek, Hanna / Clara Brandi / Adis Dzebo / Bernd Hackmann
External Publications (2019)

in: Climate Policy 20(4), 430-442

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2019.1677549
Information

In 2015, the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development were adopted, bringing about a shift from legally binding emission mitigation targets based on common metrics for developed countries only, towards voluntary commitments for all. Our content analysis of countries’ climate activities in 164 nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement reveals that these are closely connected to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda). This article explores the connections between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda at a global level, across all NDCs, and also analyses detailed connections at SDG target level for a subset of six developing countries. At the national level, focusing on developing countries that have not yet drafted a National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) and taking account of both overlaps and gaps, the article suggests ways to promote thematic coherence between both agendas and make use of this unique window of opportunity to draft NSDSs and update NDCs, making them more ambitious.