This report aims to support senior government officials in identifying, evaluating, and implementing climate and sustainable development policies. It emphasizes the importance of a synergistic approach that integrates climate action with domestic priorities, ensuring efficiency and equity in transitions. By showcasing examples and resources, the report highlights how both Global South and Global North countries can mainstream climate and sustainability into governance. It also extends its relevance to sub-national officials, civil society practitioners, and researchers, emphasizing their role in achieving broad systemic change.
A synergistic approach is particularly critical given contemporary global challenges such as geopolitical instability, rising living costs, and post-pandemic recovery. The report underlines the need for policies that tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and socio-economic inequality without creating negative trade-offs. Countries are increasingly recognizing the value of policy synergies, as reflected in the Paris Agreement’s Global Stocktake. Looking ahead to 2025, governments are expected to submit new, more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), reinforcing the need for coherent integration with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and domestic priorities.
Ultimately, the report underscores the necessity of improving institutional coordination, reducing policy fragmentation, and enabling meaningful participation to advance climate and sustainable development goals. It cautions against focusing solely on alignment without actionable policy implementation, stressing the need to anticipate impacts on vulnerable communities. It also calls on the international community, particularly the United Nations, to provide structured tools and knowledge-sharing platforms that support effective synergistic policymaking. Through these efforts, governments can drive systemic and transformative change, ensuring a just energy transition and broader societal acceptance of climate and SDG action.