Editing IPCC:AR6/WGIII/Chapter-17 (section)

== 17.1 Introduction ==

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This chapter focuses on the opportunities and challenges for ‘accelerating the transition in the context of sustainable development’. The chapter suggests that accelerating transitions in the context of sustainable development requires more than concentrating on speed. Rather, it involves expediting the pace of change (speed) while also removing the underlying drivers of vulnerability and high emissions (quality and depth), and aligning the interests of different communities, regions, sectors, stakeholders and cultures (scale and breadth). One key to enabling deep and broad transitions is integrating the views of different government agencies, businesses and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in transition processes. Another critical driver of deep and broad transitions is engaging and empowering workers, youth, women, the poor, minorities and marginalised stakeholders in just, equitable and inclusive processes. The result of such processes will be the transformation of large-scale socio-economic systems to restore the health and well-being of the planet and the people on it.

[[#17.1|Section 17.1]] begins by reviewing how climate and sustainability issues have been discussed in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as well as international climate change and sustainable development processes at different levels. It further introduces key themes addressed in the chapter’s remaining subsections. [[#17.2|Section 17.2]] provides an overview of how key theories understand transitions and transformation, and notes a shared concern over leveraging synergies and managing trade-offs between climate change and sustainable development across different disciplines. [[#17.3|Section 17.3]] provides an assessment of the mitigation options that can help achieve these synergies and avoid trade-offs. [[#17.4|Section 17.4]] pulls together the theoretical and empirical aspects by detailing the essential elements of an enabling environment that helps drive forward transitions that are quick, deep, broad and, ultimately, sustainable.

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=== 17.1.1 Integrating Climate Change and Sustainable Development in International Assessments ===

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Climate change not only poses a profound challenge to sustainable development, it is inexorably linked to it. From the early stages of the IPCC assessment process, this challenge and the inherent link between climate change and sustainable development have been well recognised. For example, the First Assessment Report (FAR) highlighted the relevance of sustainable development for climate policy. The Second Assessment Report (SAR) went further to include equity issues in its presentation of sustainable development. The Third Assessment Report (TAR) ( [[#Banuri--2001|Banuri et al. 2001]] ) made the link even stronger, noting that ‘parties have a right to and should promote sustainable development’ (as stated in the text of the [[#UNFCCC--2015|UNFCCC 2015]] (Article 3.4)), and offering an early review of studies integrating sustainable development and climate change. The Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) ( [[#Sathaye--2007|Sathaye et al. 2007]] ) added an additional perspective to these interconnections, acknowledging the existence of a two-way relationship between sustainable development and climate change.

The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) ( [[#Denton--2014|Denton et al. 2014]] ; [[#Fleurbaey--2014|Fleurbaey et al. 2014]] ) and the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR1.5) ( [[#IPCC--2018|IPCC 2018]] ; [[#Roy--2018|Roy et al. 2018]] a) have arguably made the strongest links between climate and sustainable development to date. One of the key messages of AR5 was that the implementation of climate mitigation and adaptation actions could help promote sustainable development, and it emphasised the need for transformational changes in this regard. The AR5 also concluded that the link between climate change and sustainable development is cross-cutting and complex, and that thus the impacts of climate change are threatening the efforts being made to achieve sustainable development. The SR1.5 helped systematise these links by mapping the synergies and trade-offs between selected SDG indicators and climate mitigation ( [[#IPCC--2018|IPCC 2018]] ; [[#Roy--2018|Roy et al. 2018]] b) ( [[#17.3|Section 17.3]] ).

Despite the clear links between sustainable development and climate change being recognised from the early stages of the IPCC, climate change has often been portrayed as an environmental problem to be addressed chiefly by environmental ministries ( [[#Brown--2007|Brown et al. 2007]] ; [[#Munasinghe--2007|Munasinghe 2007]] ; [[#Swart--2007|Swart and Raes 2007]] ). However, this perception has evolved over time. It is now increasingly common to see governments and other actors understand the wider ramifications of a changing climate for sustainable development. In a growing number of studies, work on climate policies and just transitions towards sustainable development are framed as going hand in hand ( [[#Fuso%20Nerini--2019|Fuso Nerini et al. 2019]] ; [[#Dugarova--2017|Dugarova and Gülasan 2017]] ; [[#Sanchez%20Rodriguez--2018|Sanchez Rodriguez et al. 2018]] ; [[#Schramade--2017|Schramade 2017]] ; [[#Zhenmin--2019|Zhenmin and Espinosa 2019]] ).

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=== 17.1.2 Integrating Climate Change and Sustainable Development in International Policymaking Processes ===

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Among the reasons for the growing realisation of these interdependencies are milestones in international climate and sustainable development processes. As outlined in Chapter 14, the year 2015 was a turning point due to two agreements: (i) the Paris Agreement; and (ii) the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ( [[#Farzaneh--2021|Farzaneh et al. 2021]] ).

Following a long history of references to sustainable development in the UNFCCC and related agreements, the Paris Agreement helped to strengthen the links between climate and sustainable development by emphasising that sustainability is related to its objectives ( [[#Sindico--2016|Sindico 2016]] ; [[#UNFCCC--2016|UNFCCC 2016]] ). One of the ways that it helped tighten this link is by institutionalising bottom-up pledges and the review architecture. Toward this end, the Paris Agreement instituted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as vehicles through which countries make pledges and demonstrate their commitment to climate action. Although there was no clear guidance on what should be included in the NDCs, some of the requirements were elaborated in the Paris Rulebook . Some of the submitted NDCs included only mitigation efforts, but others set out mitigation and adaptation goals aligning NDC commitments to national planning processes, while yet others mentioned links with the SDGs.

Another way that the Paris Agreement and the NDCs could strengthen their links to sustainable development is to update country-specific climate pledges. Countries are free to choose their targets and the means and instruments with which to implement them. A core feature of the NDCs was that countries submit NDCs every five years, giving them an opportunity to assess themselves relative to other countries, raise their ambitions and learn from their peers. Moreover, it was emphasised that countries should not ‘backslide’ in subsequent NDCs, thus ensuring that countries should always be forward-looking in respect of increasing their ambitions to deliver the Paris Goals. ( [[#Höhne--2017|Höhne et al. 2017]] ) found that, in developing countries especially, the NDC preparation process has improved national climate policymaking.

Despite some favourable reviews, several assessments of specific countries’ NDCs ( [[#Andries--2017|Andries et al. 2017]] ; [[#Rogelj--2016|Rogelj et al. 2016]] ; [[#Vandyck--2016|Vandyck et al. 2016]] ) have assessed that those submitted for 2020–2030 are insufficient for delivering on the Paris goals. Updated and/or new NDCs were therefore submitted by the end of 2020. However, an assessment of those NDCs revealed that the level of ambition was significantly lower than the goals of the Paris Agreement ( [[#UNFCCO--2020|UNFCCO 2020]] ) (see also this chapter). One of the urgent calls in Paris was to assess the impacts and efforts that need to be undertaken to keep global warming well below 2°C in relation to pre-industrial levels and evaluate related global GHG emission pathways ( [[#UNFCCC--2015|UNFCCC 2015]] ). Although the initial NDCs fell short of these goals, the idea was that NDCs would be living documents that could ratchet up climate action and ambition.

Countries have also started to take actions on the SDGs themselves ( [[#Antwi-Agyei--2018a|Antwi-Agyei et al. 2018a]] ; [[#UNDESA--2016|UNDESA 2016]] , 2017, 2018). The SDGs were perceived as a novel approach to development and as establishing a universal agenda for the transformation of development patterns and socio-economic systems. At their core, the SDGs hold that building an integrated framework for action necessitates addressing the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development in an integrated manner ( [[#Biermann--2017|Biermann et al. 2017]] ; [[#Kanie--2017|Kanie and Biermann 2017]] ). The SDGs take multiple elements of development into account in aiming to offer coherent, well-integrated, overarching approaches to a range of sustainability challenges, including climate change.

One way a link is made between climate and the SDGs is through Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). Paralleling the bottom-up orientation of the Paris Agreement and the NDCs, every year approximately forty countries voluntarily share their VNRs with the international community at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF). Even more flexible than the NDCs, the VNRs can include content such as a summary of key policies and measures that are intended to achieve the SDGs, a list of the means of implementation that support the SDGs, and related challenges and needs. The VNRs also often cover SDG 13 (climate action) as well as many other issues connected with climate change. Even with these links, implementation of the SDGs should be mentioned as part of national development processes reflecting different countries’ different priorities, visions and plans (Hanson and Korbla P. Puplampu 2018; [[#Marcotullio--2018|Marcotullio et al. 2018]] ; [[#OECD--2016|OECD 2016]] ; P. Puplampu et al. 2017; [[#Srikanth--2018|Srikanth 2018]] ).

Yet another way that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development underlines the importance of capturing synergies is its calls for policy coherence (SDGs 14 and 17). Policy coherence and integration between sectors are two of the most critical factors in breaking down the silo mode of working of different sectors. Working across climate and other sustainability agendas is essential to coherence.

A final way that the sustainability and climate agendas have been linked is through vertical integration. Following a similar trend that appeared with Agenda 21, for which many cities adopted local plans, a growing number of cities have introduced Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs). The VLRs resemble the VNRs, but place the emphasis on local actions and needs regarding the SDGs (and some links to climate change) ( [[#Ortíz-Moya--2021|Ortíz-Moya et al. 2021]] ). The 2019 SDG Report shows that 150 countries have developed national urban plans, almost half of them also being in the implementation phase ( [[#United%20Nations%20General%20Assembly--2019|United Nations General Assembly 2019]] ).

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=== 17.1.3 Integrating Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Other Policymaking Processes ===

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Other non-UN-led initiatives involving international organisations or clusters of countries have also helped to raise the issue of sustainable development as a framework for mitigation. The OECD, for instance, assesses different types of investments and economic activities with reference to their significance for environmental sustainability ( [[#OECD--2020|OECD 2020]] ), while G20 countries have drawn up action agendas with sustainable development ( [[#UToronto--2016|UToronto 2016]] ). Meanwhile, the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, a political movement convened by major country-group representatives and launched in 2010 by the German government, has also called for sustainability to be an intrinsic part of the transition ( [[#UNFCCO--2020|UNFCCO 2020]] ) ( [[#BMU--2018|BMU 2018]] ).

Due in part to the shifting orientation of these international processes, there is growing evidence of action on climate change and sustainable development at other levels of decision-making. National policies often aim to implement climate change policies in the context of sustainable development ( [[#Chimhowu--2019|Chimhowu et al. 2019]] ; [[#Chirambo--2018|Chirambo 2018]] ; [[#ECLAC--2017|ECLAC 2017]] ; [[#Fuseini--2015|Fuseini and Kemp 2015]] ; [[#Galli--2018|Galli et al. 2018]] ; [[#Haywood--2019|Haywood et al. 2019]] ; [[#Ministry%20of%20Environment%20of%20Jordan--2016|Ministry of Environment of Jordan 2016]] ; [[#McKenzie--2018|McKenzie and Abdulkadri 2018]] ; [[#UNDESA--2016|UNDESA 2016]] , 2017, 2018; [[#UN%20Women--2017|UN Women 2017]] ). Some countries are adjusting their existing policies to build on themes familiar to sustainable development ( [[#Lucas--2016|Lucas et al. 2016]] ), including renewable energy and energy efficiency ( [[#Fastenrath--2018|Fastenrath and Braun 2018]] ; [[#Kousksou--2015|Kousksou et al. 2015]] ), urban planning ( [[#Gorissen--2018|Gorissen et al. 2018]] ; [[#Loorbach--2016|Loorbach et al. 2016]] ; [[#Mendizabal--2018|Mendizabal et al. 2018]] ), health systems ( [[#Pencheon--2018|Pencheon 2018]] ; [[#Roschnik--2017|Roschnik et al. 2017]] ) and agricultural systems ( [[#Lipper--2018|Lipper and Zilberman 2018]] ; [[#Shaw--2017|Shaw and Roberts 2017]] ). Cross-cutting and integrated approaches, such as the circular economy, have also been gaining traction in some European countries ( [[#EESC--2015|EESC 2015]] ) and G20 countries ( [[#Noura--2020|Noura et al. 2020]] ). Many of these efforts have also extended up to the regional and down to the local level ( [[#Gorissen--2018|Gorissen et al. 2018]] ; [[#Hess--2014|Hess 2014]] ; [[#Shaw--2017|Shaw and Roberts 2017]] ).

There has also been a shift to actors outside government aligning climate with sustainable development. An assessment by ( [[#Hoyer--2020|Hoyer 2020]] ) found that collective action against climate change by businesses, governments and civil society, reinforced through partnerships and coalitions across departments, industries and supply chains, can deliver significant development impacts. In order for this diverse collection of stakeholders to take action, a fundamental paradigm shift is needed from a linear model of knowledge-generation to an interdisciplinary model that co-produces knowledge ( [[#Liu--2019|Liu et al. 2019]] ). In fact, some have argued that accelerating just transitions for purposes of sustainable development requires the involvement of several actors, institutions and disciplines ( [[#Delina--2018|Delina and]] [[#Sovacool--2018|Sovacool 2018]] ). Not only do these roles need to be discussed more thoroughly ( [[#Kern--2016|Kern and Rogge 2016]] ); ( [[#den%20Elzen--2019|den Elzen et al. 2019]] ), but it is also important to survey different views on transitions and transformations. A variety of theories that are useful for explaining the causes and constraints regarding transitions are examined in [[#17.2|Section 17.2]] .

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