What are the concrete steps we need to take to achieve meaningful progress toward SDG 3?

Yusuf

Daniel

We find ourselves at a pivotal juncture, halfway between 2015 &ndash; the year that saw the adoption of sustainable development goals (SDGs) &ndash; and 2030 &ndash; the year when all the SDGs are supposed to be achieved and, for the first time in the history of humanity, the world would be free from extreme poverty and hunger with universal access to education and basic health care. Unfortunately, the stark reality is that our strides toward SDGs have not been on track. In fact, according to a new assessment by the <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/sustainabledevelopment.report/2023/2023-sustainable-development-report.pdf">Sustainable Development Solutions Network</a>, we are going backward in our journey to the sustainable and equitable future described by the SDGs.
This sorry state of affairs is also true for the Paris Climate Agreement &ndash; also signed in 2015 &ndash; to limit global warming to less than 2 &deg;C and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% by 2030. A recently published <a href="https://unfccc.int/documents/631600">report</a> from the UN global stocktake, a process assessing how far we&rsquo;ve come since the Paris Agreement,&nbsp; lays bare how far off we are from achieving those targets; at the current rate of action global temperatures are expected to rise by <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/explaining-global-stocktake-paris-agreement">2.4 to 2.6 &deg;C</a>.
The window of action to meet both goals is rapidly closing. We need to move from incremental change to exponential transformation if we want to achieve these goals.&nbsp;
Climate change and human well-being are <a href="https://drawdown.org/publications/climatepoverty-connections-report#:~:text=The%20Drawdown%20Lift%20Human%20Well,in%20a%20scientifically%20consistent%20manner.">inextricably linked</a>. The only way forward is to look at climate, development, and well-being as a singular system and prioritize solutions that address them holistically. Development efforts that do not account for climate change are destined for failure as there is mounting evidence that the latter is negating recent advances in <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2021/09/climate-change-and-inequality-guivarch-mejean-taconet#:~:text=In%20recent%20decades%2C%20global%20economic,the%20poorest%20regions%20and%20people.">poverty reduction</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/05/climate-crisis-could-contribute-to-a-global-food-shortage-by-2050-us-special-envoy-on-food-security-warns">food security</a>, and human well-being.&nbsp; Similarly, climate mitigation strategies that do not enhance human well-being contradict a fundamental objective of these efforts, which is to avert the detrimental impact of climate change on human beings.
This co-dependence of climate and development is highlighted in the World Bank&rsquo;s C<a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/infographic/2022/09/19/g5-sahel-region-country-climate-and-development-report">ountry Climate and Development Report (CCDR)</a> for Africa&rsquo;s Sahel region which states that without urgent climate action, the region &ndash; which is already one of the poorest in the world &ndash; could see an additional 13.5 million people fall back into poverty by 2050. The report makes clear that the only way forward for the Sahelian countries to reduce climate impact and improve well-being is to implement strategies that address climate change, well-being, and development simultaneously and holistically.
But what are these interventions that can address climate, development, and well-being together?
First, there is an urgent need to change the way we grow food. In sub-Saharan Africa, not only is food insecurity <a href="https://ssa.foodsecurityportal.org/node/2342">more than double</a> that of any other region but the forestry, agriculture, and land use (FALU) sector is also responsible for about <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1313952/share-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-in-sub-saharan-africa-by-sector/#:~:text=As%20of%202020%2C%20the%20majority,%2C%20and%20fluorinated%20gases%2C%20respectively.">60% of the region&rsquo;s total GHG emissions</a>. While the area emits a small portion of global GHG emissions, every country and region will need to reduce emissions in order for the world to have a chance of meeting international climate goals.
Changing the way we grow food by adopting practices such as <a href="https://drawdown.org/solutions/abandoned-farmland-restoration">farmland restoration</a>, <a href="https://drawdown.org/solutions/conservation-agriculture">conservative agriculture</a>, <a href="https://drawdown.org/solutions/regenerative-annual-cropping">regenerative annual cropping</a>, and improving <a href="https://drawdown.org/solutions/indigenous-peoples-forest-tenure">land tenure</a> can rapidly decrease the GHG emissions associated with the FALU sector while being transformative for human health and well-being by increasing yields and improving drought resilience. Solutions such as <a href="https://drawdown.org/solutions/multistrata-agroforestry">agroforestry </a>and <a href="https://drawdown.org/solutions/silvopasture">silvopasture</a> contribute even further by <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28388-4">reducing heat stress</a> and<a href="https://environmentalevidencejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13750-018-0136-0#:~:text=Some%20participants%20may%20find%20that,3%2C%2031%2C%2032%5D."> increasing income</a> for farmers.
Similarly, addressing energy poverty is vital to meet both climate and developmental goals. It is well established that multidimensional poverty and access to energy are <a href="https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/report/interlinkages-between-multidimensional-poverty-and-electricity-a-study-using-the-global-multidimensional-poverty-index/">closely intertwined</a>. Without energy, people face challenges in accessing basic amenities like lighting, cooking, heating, healthcare, education, and economic opportunity; these barriers, in turn, perpetuate a cycle of deprivation. Indeed, ending energy poverty is a necessary stop on the road to achieving many sustainable development goals.
For instance, providing clean cooking solutions to everyone by 2030 would reduce GHG emissions by <a href="https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/household-energy-and-clean-air">1 gigaton per year</a> &ndash; or about 2% of annual global emissions, on par with the entire aviation industry. At the same time, this intervention would directly impact the lives of the 2.4 billion people who currently rely on polluting fuels for cooking. Benefits to human and environmental well-being from just this one solution would include reduced exposure to pollutants, decreased stress on local forests, and saving time that would otherwise be spent collecting fuelwood.
When we start thinking of development, climate, and well-being as a single system, these kinds of multifaceted, high-impact solutions abound. Renewable electricity in remote and rural areas has been shown to positively impact <a href="https://www.irena.org/news/articles/2021/Jul/How-Solar-Power-is-Reducing-Maternal-Mortality-Rates-in-Zimbabwe">maternal health</a>, <a href="https://erl.scholasticahq.com/article/32597-causality-between-access-to-electricity-and-education-evidence-from-brics-countries">education</a>, <a href="https://www.undp.org/energy/our-work-areas/energy-and-gender-equality">gender equality</a>, and <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/water/brief/solar-pumping">access to clean water</a> while at the same time reducing current and future emissions associated with the usage of unclean fuels.
Given how powerful these solutions are from both a climate and development standpoint, one would assume that they are a top priority for policymakers and climate funders. Yet these powerful solutions have been widely underutilized. For instance, in 2021, the FALU sector in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) received a direct investment of only <a href="https://www.eib.org/attachments/lucalli/mdbs_joint_report_2021_en.pdf">10% and 8% of the climate adaptation and mitigation finance</a>, respectively, from multinational development banks.
Progress on clean cooking has also been unacceptably slow. If current trends continue, it's estimated that by 2030 almost 1.9 billion people could still be without access to clean cooking, directly contributing to the failure of SDGs related to poverty, health, gender, and energy.
The same is true for clean electricity. According to a recent joint report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Africa receives <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/doubling-energy-investment-in-africa-requires-urgent-action-to-bring-down-financing-costs-and-boost-access-to-capital">only 2% of global clean energy </a>capital even though it accounts for almost 20% of the world&rsquo;s population and suffers from widespread energy poverty.
The clock is ticking; our narrow window of opportunity to alter our course is rapidly closing. To meet developmental and climate goals, there are three key areas of action.
First, climate finance in low-and middle-income countries, which is currently several times lower than what is required, must be rapidly scaled up. This will require high-income countries to quickly <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/uaes-jaber-urges-donors-deliver-100-bln-pledge-developing-countries-2023-05-02/">deliver on their past funding commitments</a>. Increasing national debt for LMICs has also <a href="https://unctad.org/news/global-debt-and-climate-crises-are-intertwined-heres-how-tackle-both">slowed climate action considerably</a> and it&rsquo;s clear that debt forgiveness may be <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/g7-owes-huge-13-trillion-debt-global-south">one of the most crucial upstream solutions</a> that could make technical implementation of climate interventions possible.
Second, <a href="https://drawdown.org/publications/climatepoverty-connections-report#:~:text=The%20Drawdown%20Lift%20Human%20Well,in%20a%20scientifically%20consistent%20manner.">intersectional interventions</a> such as those highlighted here need to be urgently financed. Climate financing needs a new benchmark for success. It should not be about the return on investment in financial terms, but rather the return in terms of reduced emissions, transformed lives, and increased resilience in recipient communities. It's time to prioritize the well-being of our planet and its inhabitants over profit.
Third, as countries are due to update their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) in 2025, they should include and <a href="https://drawdown.org/news/insights/supercharging-national-climate-plans">prioritize powerful intersectional interventions</a> that address climate, development, and well-being simultaneously.
As global leaders, stakeholders, and climate financiers convene at the SDG summit and Climate Ambition Summit this week in New York, they hold the power to steer the world toward sustainability, equity, prosperity, and justice. By focusing on high-impact solutions deployed at a global scale, a future where we meet both our climate and development goals can be reached on the same path.
illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability &amp; Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.

Two destinations, one path: world leaders must align global climate and development goals this week in New York

Earth Overshoot Day gives us a moment to reflect on how inequality is not only a symptom but a cause of the climate crisis

Yesterday, just eight months into 2023, marked the day that human consumption used more natural resources than can be regenerated in an entire year. Put another way, humans are using resources <a href="https://www.overshootday.org/how-many-earths-or-countries-do-we-need/">1.8 times faste</a>r than nature can replace them.
Overshoot Day, which annually marks this inauspicious milestone, arrived in the midst of planetary upheaval this year. Widespread heatwaves have spurred what was quite possibly the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrvetter/2023/07/27/july-2023-virtually-certain-to-be-hottest-month-in-human-history/?sh=2098700a77ee">hottest month ever experienced</a> by humanity. Ocean temperatures are skyrocketing with <a href="https://phys.org/news/2023-07-atlantic-ocean-temperature-high-agency.html">record-breaking numbers in the North Atlantic</a> and hot tub level temperatures along the <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/07/26/florida-ocean-temperature-hits-100-degree-hot-tub-levels-record-hottest-seawater-measured/">Florida coast</a>. Wildfires are <a href="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/CANADA-WILDFIRE/HISTORIC/znvnzebmavl/">burning at a record pace</a>, Antarctica is experiencing a <a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/once-in-75-million-year-event-in-antarctica-could-have-major-impact-on-global-weather-190806457.html">once-in-a-7.5-million-year event</a> in which sea ice <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/29/something-weird-is-going-on-search-for-answers-as-antarctic-sea-ice-stays-at-historic-lows">larger than the area of Mexico</a> has failed to freeze, and the UN Secretary-General has declared our global food systems &ldquo;<a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/07/1139037">broken</a>.&rdquo;
This year&rsquo;s major climate negotiations at COP28 will take place amid this backdrop of an ever-depleting environment, spiraling climate disasters, and increasing levels of human suffering. Time is running out for world leaders to take just, urgent, and scaled action to address climate change and sustainable development; COP28, then, must overcome <a href="https://drawdown.org/news/insights/reflections-from-bonn-climate-negotiations-must-face-reality-and-rebuild-credibility">destructive political dynamics</a> and put forward a serious &ldquo;<a href="https://illuminem.com/illuminemvoices/a-rescue-plan-for-people-and-the-planet">rescue plan for people and the planet</a>.&rdquo;
Yesterday was also an important reminder of a heavily scrutinized yet <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-under-no-circumstances-will-pay-into-loss-damage-fund-kerry-2023-07-13/">consistently dismissed</a> driver of these dual crises: immense inequality. According to the Earth Overshoot Day organizers, if everyone lived like the U.S., for example, we would require <a href="https://www.overshootday.org/how-many-earths-or-countries-do-we-need/">5.1 Earths</a> to generate the necessary resources. The 2022 World Inequality Report <a href="https://wir2022.wid.world/">estimated</a> that 50% of the world&rsquo;s population owns just 2% of global wealth, whereas the richest 10% and the top 1% own 75% and 38% of global wealth, respectively. These facts are inseparable from today&rsquo;s milestone as they show that a small percentage of the world&rsquo;s population is driving much of Earth Overshoot.
It&rsquo;s no coincidence that many of the countries with the <a href="https://www.overshootday.org/how-many-earths-or-countries-do-we-need/">biggest ecological footprints</a> such as the U.S. are also among the <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/contributed-most-global-co2">top contributors</a> to current and historical greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), which have contributed little to overshoot and climate change, are <a href="https://unctad.org/news/global-debt-and-climate-crises-are-intertwined-heres-how-tackle-both">mired in debt</a> while high-income countries (HICs) have <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/g7-owes-huge-13-trillion-debt-global-south">failed</a> to follow through on financing commitments, both of which have delayed serious climate and development action. Taken together, these trends reveal a pattern of extraction that siphons resources, energy, and capital from LMICs to a small percentage of HICs.
Last year offered a troubling look at this &ldquo;wealth pump&rdquo; (a term <a href="https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/interest-rates-have-broken-global-wealth-pump-2023-06-23/">coined</a> by historian Peter Turchin to describe these dynamics). In 2022, oil and gas companies posted <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/03/oil-companies-bring-in-200-billion-in-profits-in-2022.html">record earnings</a>, making over <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-and-gas-profits-2022.html">$4 trillion in profits</a> while receiving a <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/fossil-fuels-consumption-subsidies-2022">record-breaking $1 trillion</a> in government subsidies. At the same time, more than 70 million people fell into extreme poverty, bringing the global total of those living off of less than $2.15 a day to over <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview">700 million</a>. Those living in extreme poverty are, of course, also the most vulnerable to climate change and have few resources to rebuild their lives following related disasters, offering yet another alarm bell alerting us to the dramatically unwise, unequal, and unjust system of resource distribution that&rsquo;s driving ecological and climate crises.
It should come as no surprise then that debates over who pays for a deteriorating climate and sustainable development are once again surfacing in international climate negotiations. At this year&rsquo;s COP28 in Dubai, these issues will be visible in a variety of topics&mdash;whether officially discussed or not&mdash;such as phasing out fossil fuels, the Global Stocktake (an assessment of how far the world has come since the Paris Agreement), climate finance, past funding commitments, climate adaptation, and compensation for losses and damages related to climate change.&nbsp;
Despite <a href="https://climatechangenews.com/2023/07/14/loss-and-damage-john-kerry-climate-reparations/">deep resistance</a>, policymakers from high-income, high-emitting, and high-consuming countries must begin taking responsibility and approaching negotiations through a lens of climate justice.
For instance, while COP28 president, Sultan Al Jaber, has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/13/phase-down-of-fossil-fuel-inevitable-and-essential-says-cop28-president">called for</a> a fossil fuel &ldquo;phase down&rdquo;, a climate justice lens demands a serious commitment to a fossil fuel phaseout. Ultimately, negotiators must recognize that serious systems transformation must be undergirded by an acknowledgment that the fossil fuel complex is unjust and unsustainable; it&rsquo;s not compatible with international climate and development goals nor is it compatible with a livable future.
Climate finance will be a hot topic at COP28 as well and a climate justice lens will be essential to make progress on <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/about/news/paris-summit-falls-short-delivering-necessary-climate-finance-reform">necessary reforms</a>. An important starting point will be for HICs to live up to <a href="https://unctad.org/news/climate-finance-goal-works-developing-countries">past commitments</a> to provide $100 billion annually for vulnerable countries. However, this amount is only a fraction of what the climate crisis requires and HICs will not only need to deliver on past commitments but make future funding commitments at <a href="https://unctad.org/news/climate-finance-goal-works-developing-countries">significantly higher level</a>s and with stronger <a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/climate-change-finance/">accountability mechanisms</a>. Debt relief will also be an <a href="https://unctad.org/news/global-debt-and-climate-crises-are-intertwined-heres-how-tackle-both">inescapable necessity</a> to achieve international climate and development goals.
Lastly, negotiators will need to make strides on the Global Goal for Adaptation by working to bring adaptation efforts to the scale of mitigation efforts and by funding the promised <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/what-you-need-know-about-cop27-loss-and-damage-fund">Loss and Damage Fund</a>, which will provide support for countries impacted by climate disasters. Properly addressing these issues with adequate and debt-free financing is a critical step in aligning climate and development goals while addressing historical injustices.
We are careening toward climate and human well-being disaster&mdash;and these first eight months of 2023 are only a preview of what&rsquo;s to come. More than just another reminder of how we are altering the planet, Earth Overshoot Day begs us to question both who is driving the overshoot and who is suffering most as a result; it&rsquo;s a moment to reflect on how inequality is not only a symptom but a cause of the climate crisis. Hopefully, in the near future, we will celebrate a year without an Earth Overshoot Day. But for that to happen, world leaders present at COP28 must recognize the connection between inequality and climate change and embed a climate justice lens within every decision.
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illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability &amp; Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.
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COP28 must address who is really overshooting on "Earth" Overshoot Day

We can—and must—harmonize climate and development goals in this critical decade

Imagine telling the next generation that we are leading them to a world where infectious disease will be more prevalent; mental health issues, extreme heat, and human displacement will be more common; and our infrastructure will be more vulnerable to climate hazards. This is the path we are on right now, according to a new&nbsp;<a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/sustainabledevelopment.report/2023/2023-sustainable-development-report.pdf">assessment</a> by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
The report warns that we are &ldquo;going in reverse&rdquo; on the path to achieving the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">Sustainable Development Goals</a> (SDGs), a set of ambitious but achievable targets for enhancing human well-being that address a range of issues from poverty and education to energy access and climate action. The authors note that our current trajectory could leave a wider gap between high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by 2030 than existed when more than 190 countries came together to establish the goals in 2015.
At the same time, the world remains off track for limiting warming to 1.5&deg;C as called for under the Paris Agreement, an aim that requires emissions to peak by 2025 and drop by 45% by 2030.&nbsp;
This combination makes the 2020s a pivotal decade for humanity. In the words of the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG), the world urgently needs a &ldquo;<a href="https://hlpf.un.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/SDG%2520Progress%2520Report%2520Special%2520Edition.pdf">rescue plan for the people and the planet</a>;&rdquo;&nbsp;
So who are the worst impacted by the combined failure to meet the SDGs and the Paris Agreement? It is the people living in extreme poverty (less than $1.90 a day) in LMICs who have contributed the least to climate change.
Extreme poverty and climate change are deeply intertwined. Poverty reduction efforts that do not consider carbon emissions or account for rising temperatures and increased frequency of extreme weather will fail because such events have been shown to reverse the gains made in poverty alleviation, reducing inequality, and improving health and food security. Similarly, climate mitigation strategies that do not improve human well-being are counter to the very purpose of mitigation effort, which at its core is to prevent the negative impact of climate change on human lives.
This intertwining is a challenge. But it&rsquo;s also an opportunity. It means that even as the problems are connected, so are the solutions. There are&nbsp;<a href="https://drawdown.org/publications/climatepoverty-connections-report">highly effective actions</a>&nbsp;we can take that improve human well-being and reduce greenhouse gas emissions&nbsp;at the same time.&nbsp;Initiatives that improve agriculture and agroforestry, protect and restore ecosystems, provide clean energy, and foster equality. can generate enormous direct and indirect sustainable development co-benefits, such as reducing poverty and improving food security, health, education, gender equality, and access to energy.
Such powerful interventions that address both the SDGs and climate goals in LMICs are like big wins for development banks. Yet, many solutions remain grossly underfunded for a variety of reasons including staff capacity, difficulty in monitoring direct and indirect benefits, as well as, competing priorities. For example, adopting clean cooking and providing clean energy&mdash;both of which are fundamental in meeting several SDGs and climate goals&mdash;are experiencing roadblocks. Investments in clean cooking initiatives are an order of magnitude lower than the necessary amount to achieve universal access which is estimated to be US $10 billion, yet the costs of inaction are US $2.4&nbsp;trillion. Clean electricity projects, however, remain scarce and stymied in LMICs by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9VFlXF47f0&amp;ab_channel=TED">high-interest rates and risk premiums</a>.
The climate clock is ticking. We are racing against time. Will we leave the next generation a better world or a legacy of failure? A serious rescue plan can be nothing short of a full-scale mobilization of human, technological, and financial resources. This will require HICs like the U.S. to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/research-publications/climate-finance-short-changed-the-real-value-of-the-100-billion-commitment-in-20192020/">deliver on past financing commitments</a>&nbsp;as well as take a new approach to investment frameworks.
This new approach must change the reward system for climate and sustainable development finance. More than 90% of climate finance is dominated by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Full-report-Global-Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-2021.pdf">debt or equity</a>&nbsp;where the investor expects a financial return. Climate financing can no longer be measured by how much capital it returns to the lender but, instead, by how much it reduces emissions, how many lives it transforms, and how resilient it makes the recipient community. An investment model that puts the well-being of humans and the environment first is our only hope for a thriving future.
This fall, world leaders will have multiple chances to deliver on past commitments and put the world on track to meeting climate and development goals. Events such as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.un.org/en/conferences/SDGSummit2023#:~:text=The%25202023%2520SDG%2520Summit%2520will,actions%2520leading%2520up%2520to%25202030.">SDG Summit</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/climate-ambition-summit">Climate Ambition Summit</a>&nbsp;in September as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=cop28&amp;oq=cop28&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57.2712j0j7&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">COP28</a>&nbsp;beginning in November will be crucial decision points at which policymakers will have the chance to deliver a &ldquo;rescue plan for people and the planet.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Now more than ever, policymakers must ask themselves: What story do we want to be able to tell the next generation? One in which we knowingly created a more unequal and unstable world for them? Or one in which we did everything in our power to give them the best chance possible?
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This article is also published on <a href="https://www.eurasiareview.com/16072023-a-rescue-plan-for-people-and-the-planet-oped/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eurasia Review</a>. illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability &amp; Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.
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Daniel Jasper

Daniel Jasper

Two destinations, one path: world leaders must align global climate and development goals this week in New York

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