Climate and sustainable development crises must be solved together

The 2025 Global Report on Climate and SDG Synergies, launched at the United Nations last month, found that tackling the climate and sustainable development crises together, through synergistic action that breaks down silos, can unlock efficiencies at scale and reduce government spending needed on these crises by nearly 40 per cent. 

The report was prepared by the independent Expert Group on Climate and SDG Synergies, co-convened by UN DESA and UNFCCC. It builds on the growing body of evidence brought together in the series of annual thematic and global reports by the expert group since 2023, as well as discussions at annual conferences held since 2019 in Brazil, Denmark and Japan. 

To help illustrate the issues, several of the experts and delegates involved were asked: If you could prioritize one innovation or policy that would make climate action more impactful in achieving the SDGs, what would it be? Here is what they answered.

Måns Nilsson, Executive Director, Stockholm Environment Institute: 

“I would give priority to advancing innovative bioeconomy strategies across sectors such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, energy, and construction. Such strategies have the potential to transform multiple industries such as chemicals, fertilizers, and energy towards net-zero goals by replacing fossil-based materials and processes with regenerative bio-based alternatives. Bio-innovation approaches to agriculture—such as developing drought-resistant crop varieties, biological soil improvements, and precision fermentation using microorganisms—can also directly address food security challenges exacerbated by climate change, thus impacting both climate mitigation and resilience.

What makes this approach particularly powerful is how bio-innovation can work with natural systems, creating solutions that can simultaneously tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource scarcity while generating economic opportunities.” 

Mercedes Bustamante, Professor, Universidade de Brasília: 

“The synergies between nature conservation and climate action are undeniable. Healthy ecosystems are interwoven into the goals of the global frameworks addressing biodiversity loss, land degradation, and climate change. Quantifiable benefits—from gigatons of carbon sequestered and increased resilience to disasters to billions in economic savings—highlight the urgency of integrating these strategies.

Nature conservation is also a pillar of sustainable and just agrifood systems (from production to consumption), at the center of the Sustainable Development Goals. Policies and innovation promoting the building of sustainable food systems while reducing the pressures on natural ecosystems are essential to fight climate change, biodiversity decline, poverty and inequalities.”

Ole Thonke, Climate Ambassador and Under-Secretary for Development Policy, Denmark:

“Energy powers everything—from hospitals and schools to water systems and jobs and Sustainable Development. However, energy is responsible for about 70% of global CO₂ emissions. The good news is that renewable energy like solar and wind is now cheaper than fossil fuels in most places. There is vast untapped potential to expand renewables, which can create green growth, jobs and incomes worldwide. Renewable energy can be integrated both into grids and used in rural areas through small-scale, independent systems.

Yet, one challenge remains: affordable, large-scale energy storage. Investing in better storage technology would allow us to rely fully on renewables instead of polluting fuels. The technology is moving fast forward, and in only five years we expect it to be ready and affordable.”

Elisabeth Gilmore, Associate Professor, Carleton University, Canada:

 “We need to shift our research practices to be more community-led and focused on approaches that bring out and respect more diverse knowledge. For example, as climate impacts intensify, one way that people adapt is by moving: seasonally, temporarily, or permanently. This includes those relocating after disasters, migrating for work as agricultural patterns shift, or adapting mobility patterns to stay in place. When such movements are properly supported, they can generate substantial benefits across SDGs for both receiving and sending communities. However, when movement happens outside formal policy and planning, it can deepen poverty and vulnerabilities including poor mental and physical health, diminished livelihoods and increased inequality, particularly for those who are experiencing precarity in their housing. 

For climate adaptation to be effective and equitable, we need to generate more knowledge and processes that integrate the lived experiences of mobile populations – they are not only data points. They are decision-makers. Designing climate policy that moves with people, and listens to their priorities, is essential for achieving just and sustainable development.” 

Read the complete interviews. 

For more information:  2025 Global Report on Climate and SDG Synergies