The 2024 report builds on the 2023 report by the Expert Group on Climate and SDG Synergy. It incorporates insights from a 2024 thematic series exploring synergies in financial systems, policy frameworks, cities, and knowledge and data.
Key findings highlight that both the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement are significantly off track. Monthly temperature records have been consistently set for over a year, jeopardizing the 1.5ºC target of the Paris Agreement. Only 17% of SDG targets are projected to be met by 2030, with over one-third experiencing stalled or regressed progress.
The report attributes this to a lack of political will and fragmentation in governance, finance, and education. With over 80% of SDG targets directly linked to climate, the report recommends breaking down silos and accelerating impact, emphasizing the 2025 round of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) as a key opportunity for better integration of SDGs into climate plans.
Experts caution against top-down approaches, advocating for solutions tailored to local contexts and the creation of a global platform for knowledge exchange and data sharing.
Additional recommendations include:
The report was launched on 16 July at a special event during the 2024 UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. It was prepared by a 17-member expert group, co-led by Luis Gomez-Echeverri and Heide Hackmann, with support from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the UNFCCC Secretariat.