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The infographic on Industry Transition is part of the IGES Infographics Series on the interactions between Climate Action and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The six transformative action areas for the infographics series were: Climate Finance and Carbon Pricing; Energy Transition; Industry Transition; Nature-based Solutions; Infrastructure, Cities and Local Action; and Resilience and Adaptation. By highlighting various areas of research and initiatives undertaken by IGES and its partners, this infographic illustrates how industry transitions to mitigate climate change can complement the SDGs.
Methodology for Creating the Interlinkages Diagrams (in the Infographics)
Xin ZHOU and Mustafa MOINUDDIN
The SDG interlinkages diagrams used in the infographics have been adapted from IGES’ SDG Interlinkages Analysis & Visualisation Tool (V3.0). This Tool enables users to visualise the quantified causal links between SDG targets and identify potential synergies and trade-offs.
The interlinkages diagrams are generated to visualise, firstly, how the SDG targets related to a given thematic area interact with climate action-related targets (first-tier interactions), and secondly, how these climate action-related targets eventually impact other SDG areas (second-tier interactions).
Figure 1. Structure of the infographics diagram with core SDG targets (circled in red), first-tier nodes (circled in blue) and second-tier nodes (in the brown square). Here, the diagram for Industry Transition is used as an example.
Source: Diagram generated using the SDG Interlinkages Analysis & Visualisation Tool (V3.0) (Zhou, et al., 2019)
Step 1: Selection of the thematic targets
While many SDG targets may be broadly relevant to a given thematic area of the six infographics, only a limited number of these targets may be closely linked to climate actions, so the first step involves identifying the most relevant SDG targets related to the given climate action thematic area. IGES experts selected these thematic targets on the basis of their practical project-level experience in various countries, and fine-tuned the list through internal consultations. For instance, out of the eight targets under Goal 9 on Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Target 9.4 on industrial retrofit and Target 9.5 on R&D for industrial sectors are identified as the most relevant for industry transition for climate mitigation (the red circles in Figure 1).
Step 2: First-tier interactions
The SDG Interlinkages Tool through which the diagrams were generated is developed to present the direct causal relations between the SDG targets which are identified based on a comprehensive literature review related to specific goals or targets (see Zhou and Moinuddin, 2017). In addition, the SDG Interlinkages Tool (V3.0) also provides the quantification of the interlinkages based on the statistical data of relevant target-level indicators at the national level for 27 countries.
Once the thematic targets are selected (Step 1), the SDG Interlinkages Tool can provide the direct linkages of the thematic targets with other relevant targets. In Step 2, the linkages of the thematic targets with climate mitigation and adaption are selected through internal consultation with IGES experts to illustrate the first-tier interactions of the thematic areas with climate actions. For instance, for Industry Transition, Target 7.3 on energy efficiency, Target 12.4 managing chemicals and waste, Target 12.5 on reducing waste generation and Target 13.2 on climate mitigation (the blue circles in Figure 1) have been identified as the first-tier interactions with Targets 9.4 and 9.5, the thematic targets for Industry Transition. These first-tier interactions may further exert influence on other SDG targets through the second-tier interactions (Step 3).
Step 3: Second-tier interactions
The second-tier interactions indicate the impacts of the first-tier interactions on other SDG targets. The identification of the second-tier interactions is also based on the SDG Interlinkages Tool and through internal consultation with IGES experts. For instance, for Industry Transition, the second-tier interactions include targets from social (Goals 2 and 11), environmental (Goals 6, 13, 14, and 15) and economic (Goals 8, 10, and 12) areas (the brown square area in Figure 1), indicating, in this case, that measures for Industry Transition will contribute to climate mitigation and therefore influence the three dimensions of sustainability.
As noted earlier, the diagrams provide the conceptual frameworks of possible interactions of the thematic targets with other SDG targets through mitigation and adaptation measures. However, the diagrams do not indicate potential synergies (positive impacts) or trade-offs (negative impacts) between relevant targets. Synergies and trade-offs depend on the nature of the interactions and the country-specific context.
For more information and for country-level analysis and data, please visit: https://sdginterlinkages.iges.jp/.
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