Governments will agree in this year 2015 on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
for the period to 2030, as well as a new global climate agreement, which will take effect from 2020. Together, these could set the course for environmental sustainability and human well-being this century. The agreements together offer a once-in-a generation opportunity to end extreme poverty, create climate resilience and avoid dangerous levels of climate change by committing to zero net carbon emissions. This policy brief explores the relationship between the level of ambition in the global climate agreement and countries’ subsequent ability to achieve the SDGs, globally and in selected case study countries. It aims to provide decision makers and negotiators at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention (UNFCCC COP21) with a better understanding, and quantitative evidence where possible, of the implications of the climate agreement for the SDGs.
