Climate mitigation measures boost the Sustainable Development Goals’ achievement : a PBL report

PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency released a report assessing the effects that the adoption of climate mitigation measures have on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Research is conducted on sustainable land use and investments in access to sustainable energy for people in developing countries. The study was written within the framework of the covenant between PBL and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate-General for International Cooperation.

In the study ‘Climate Change Measures and Sustainable Development Goals’, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency shows that this impact is predominantly positive in all geographic regions, but the extent to which varies considerably from region to region. For North America, Europe and Central and South America, the measures show only a few difficult trade-offs. These are mainly linked to the implementation of certain technologies that are still relatively expensive.In Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia, there is a risk that climate measures will hamper measures to combat poverty and hunger, if they are not accompanied by policies that protect poor people from possible increases in food and energy prices. In the Middle East and North Africa, climate action could help make the regional economy less dependent on oil.
The study states that increasing the share of renewable electricity has the most positive side effects for achieving other SDGs. The report warns policy makers that additional attention is needed to tackle socio-economic consequences of agriculture-related measures aiming to reduce CO₂ emissions from land use.

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