Opening Remarks at Synergies in joint implementation of Climate Change Adaptation and the Sustainable Development Goals

Distinguished GuestsLadies and gentlemen,

I am very pleased to welcome you to this event on “Synergies in joint implementation of Climate Change Adaptation and the Sustainable Development Goals”.

I wish to thank the distinguished panellists from Chile, Indonesia, the FAO and UNEP for their important participation. I look forward to hearing their insights and experiences

I also thank the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development, UNOSD – a technical arm of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UNDESA – for their efforts in organizing this event. UNOSD has been contributing to implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, through their capacity development and knowledge-sharing activities.

Excellencies,

The 17 SDGs, as enshrined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, form an integrated and holistic framework towards a sustainable development path for people and planet. The Goals are inherently interconnected. Thus, their cross-cutting nature requires working across sectors and away from the silo approach.

As you know, the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda are the signatory commitments set forth by the Member States to ensure a sustainable future towards 2030 and beyond. Their joint and collaborative implementation is therefore key to their success. Innovative plans and strategies are needed to maximise the synergies and minimise the trade-offs. This is the way to nurture low carbon and climate resilient societies, and ensure the global temperature rise under 1.5 or 2.0 degrees Celsius.

That is why UN DESA together with UNFCCC, hosted in April 2019, the global conference on strengthening synergies between the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Conference, convened in Copenhagen, Denmark, resonated with the subsequent Climate Action Summit and SDG Summit, which took place during the September high-level week of the General Assembly.Distinguished Participants,

The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change makes it clear that the world must act now. After slowing down in recent years, CO2 emissions are rising again. As is well known, the past four years have been the warmest four years on record.

The world continues to experience rising sea levels, extreme weather events and increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases. At the same time, both frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are on the rise. More than two billion people now live in countries experiencing high water stress – a slow-onset effect of climate change. Devastating consequences are also being felt in food and water shortages.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let there be no mistake: scaled-up climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts are crucial both for development and peace.

Indeed, well-designed adaptation measures can have positive impacts on a number of the SDGs simultaneously. For example, wetland conservation as an important adaptation measure can contribute to the following:

• lower disaster risks, which impacts Goal 13 on climate change adaptation;
• nurture habitat for fishery – which helps to achieve Goals 14 on ocean and Goal 2 on hunger;
• reduce carbon emission – which helps to achieve Goal 13 on climate change mitigation; and it can
• conserve oceans and terrestrial ecosystem, which contributes to Goal 14 on ocean and 15 on biodiversity.

It is also important to emphasize that developing countries—particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the Least Developed Countries (LDC) – are least able to cope with climate change — and are more vulnerable to climate risks.

We need to reach out to the most vulnerable regions and populations – and those hit the hardest by climate change – to truly realize a climate-resilient and sustainable planet.

Let me close by advertising the SDG pavilion where you are now. UN DESA has been hosting the SDG pavilion at Climate COP since Katowice last year. This year, we are hosting approximately 50 events during the two-week period of COP 25. I hope you can fully engage with various activities so that we can link climate change to a new model of development, a development with greater justice and harmony between people and planet, as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres emphasized during the Climate Action Summit held last September.

It is my hope that this meeting will allow you to share more ideas and best practices on the synergistic implementation of climate change Adaptation and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Once again, I thank all the participants and speakers today, and I look forward to the productive discussions ahead.

Thank you.