HLPF 2023 Official Side Event

Translating Evidence to Action on Climate and SDGs Synergies in Asia and Beyond

17th July 2023, Mon, 8:45-9:45 am in NY / 9:45-10:45 pm in Tokyo

The urgent need to address the climate, biodiversity and pollution crises have focused attention on solutions that leverage synergies across multiple issues. Such solutions can be more cost-effective than single-issue interventions, overcoming economic barriers that often stall progress on sustainable development. They may also build the multi-stakeholder coalitions needed to drive transformative changes. This promise has given rise to research that can help estimate the size of synergies in, for instance, nature-based or co-benefits solutions. It has also found its way into policy statements such as the voluntary national reviews (VNRs) and voluntary local reviews (VLRs). At the same time, knowledge on how to strengthen the connection between evidence and action on synergies is still limited. One reason for this is that the lessons of synergistic actions developed in each region have not been effectively accumulated. As the world’s most populated and fast-growing region, there are projects in Asia that can provide learning opportunities for stakeholders, policy makers, and researchers at local level. The primary purpose of this side-event was to share practices of synergistic actions in Asia and beyond and discuss how to strengthen the connection between evidence and action on synergies. It is expected that the outcomes of this event will provide input from Asia and beyond to the 4th Conference on Climate and SDGs Synergies and “Expert Group Reports—Climate-SDGs Synergies for Maximal Impact” to be launched in September 2023 on the margins of the UN SDG Summit.

Event Details

Date/time
17th July 2023, Mon, 8:45-9:45 am in NY / 9:45-10:45 pm in Tokyo
Venue

Online

Co-Organisers
United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS)
Collaborators
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat
Languages
Japanese / English (Simultaneous interpretation)
(Simultaneous interpretation)

Presentation Materials

MC: FUJINO Junichi, Programme Director, Integrated Sustainability Centre, IGES

1. Opening Remarks YANAGIMOTO Akira, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ)  
2. Framing Presentation TAKEUCHI Kazuhiko, President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) PDF (1.5MB)
3. Implementing and Analysing Synergies Maria Katherina Patdu, Associate Programme Officer, United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (UNEP ROAP)  PDF (521KB)
Dindo Campilan, Regional Director, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Asia Regional Office  
Sameer M. Deshkar, Associate Professor, Architecture and Urban Planning Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, India  
Elena Rovenskaya, Program Director and Principal Research Scholar, Advancing Systems Analysis Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) PDF (1.1MB)
Lynn Wagner, Senior Director of the Tracking Progress program, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)  
4. Special Remarks James Grabert, Director of the Mitigation Division, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat   
Bahareh Seyedi, Senior Sustainable Development Officer, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)   
5. Closing Remarks YAMAGUCHI Yume Shinobu, Director of the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS)  

Recorded Video