SDG 13 - Climate Action

SDG post #13 - SDG 13 Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Hi #sustainability champions, today we continue our  journey exploring the individual SDGs one by one to polish our knowledge and upskill in SDG learning. As you know by now we send out a post approximately once or twice weekly until we have gone through all 17 SDGs. Today we tackle  SDG 13 -  Climate Action..
You can follow or connect with us and see what we have to offer related to upskilling your change maker abilities (of tools and training) on our SDG toolkit webpages. ✔

So let’s explore Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13), also known as  "Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” in a concise manner suitable for learning.

What is SDG 13 about?

Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13) is a global commitment to "take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts". It is probably the single most important SDG of all from its urgency to take immediate and decisive emergency actions to combat climate change and does not only affect all others very deeply, but will be pivotally crucial for not only reaching any of the SDGs but for creating a liveable future for all. It covers a substantial and diverse variety of critical topics in relation to how to combat climate change and its impacts like the inclusion of climate action in national policies, the improvements of climate change knowledge, transfer of climate change knowledge, taking of  immediate actions, improve resilience and adaptation towards climate change, and significantly increase finances for climate change action particularly for developing countries. This is the pivotal and critical topic everywhere, which is at the heart of our current environmental and other crisis caused by overconsumption and energy and resources use and waste, hence the essential topic for any individual, community or organisation but of course governments at all levels anywhere. 

Climate change and climate action is the most widely discussed environmental (but also social and economic) topic of all and even if people have hardly heard of the SDG before, they are certainly aware (and may have been impacted by) of climate change and its impacts, but also about climate change mitigation and adaptation. 

It has to be said upfront that everything said about achieving SDG 13 is in context of the separate UN Paris Climate Agreement from 2015, which determines the globally agreed upon actions on climate mitigation and adaptation, but which is  also part of the SDG13 targets and it would be highly desirable to integrate the SDGs and climate goals of the Paris Agreement much more closely, in order to be able to achieve all, due to their tight interconnectedness and because causes and effects of climate change are multifaceted and multidimensional, by working towards achieving the SDGs is an integral part of combating the climate emergency.

Why does SDG 13 matter?

Climate change is and as climate emergency is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events and disasters such as heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods and tropical cyclones, aggravating water availability and management problems, loss of soils and vegetation cover, aggravating and inducing biodiversity loss and ecosystems decline, reducing agricultural production and food security, increasing health risks, damaging critical infrastructure and interrupting the provision of basic services such as water and sanitation, education, energy and transport, but also straining health and social systems everywhere but with countries of the global south more heavily impacted and least able to cope. There is hardly any day in the year when there are not any climate related disasters reported from around the world, which have significantly increased in frequency, intensity and severity of their effects on humans and the environment, with human induced climate change playing an increasing role in the severity and frequency of such occurrences, which increasingly overwhelm coping and adaptation capabilities in many regions.

Climate records were shattered in 2023 and 2024, with the world watching the climate crisis unfold in real time and faster than projected. Communities around the world are suffering the effects of extreme weather, which is destroying lives and livelihoods on a daily basis. The roadmap to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C and avoid the worst of climate chaos cannot afford any delays, indecision or half measures by the global community. It demands immediate emergency actions for drastic reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions in this decade and the achievement of  at least zero or more likely net negative by 2050 (and not just net-zero, which is insufficient).

• From 1880 to 2024 and up to early 2025), average global temperature increased by 1.6°C and has significantly accelerated in recent years and with January 2025 1.7°C above long term averages. We may even rival temperatures from the Eemian interglacial period 120,000 years ago.
• Oceans have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished and sea level has risen. From 1880 to 20203, the global average sea level rose by 24 cm as oceans expanded. The Arctic’s sea ice extent has shrunk in every successive decade since 1979 and will become ice free in coming years to decades.
• Glaciers and ice shields are melting at an accelerated rate, also accelerating sea level rise and contributing increasingly to reaching dangerous tipping points in earth systems at an accelerating speed within the coming few years, which are points of no return in heading towards a ‘hothouse earth’
• Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) have increased by almost 50 per cent since 1990 and by more than 150% compared to pre-industrial times and are still on the rise.. 
• Emissions grew more quickly between 2000 and 2010 than in each of the three previous decades
• And overall the sad truth is that the world today burns more wood, coal, oil and gas and carbon than ever before, also to mention that increasingly used unconventional gas sources (i.e. fracked gas) may contribute more GHG than coal, a step in the wrong direction.

Climate change is a real and undeniable threat to the survival of our entire civilisation.The effects are already highly visible and catastrophic and more so unless we act now. Through education, innovation and firm adherence to our climate commitments, we can make the necessary changes to protect the planet and ensure our survival. These changes also provide huge opportunities to modernise our infrastructure which will create new jobs and promote greater prosperity across the globe if done in accordance with implementing all SDGs as intended.

Again climate records were shattered in 2023 and 2024 and the years before as the climate crisis accelerated in real time and faster than projected. Rising temperatures have not abated and global greenhouse gas emissions continue to climb. Communities worldwide are severely suffering from extreme weather and increasingly frequent and more intense disasters, destroying lives and livelihoods daily. Meanwhile, fossil fuel subsidies hit a record high.

The global community faces a critical juncture. All countries must urgently speed up economy-wide, low-carbon (or no-carbon) transformations to avoid escalating economic and social costs. The next round of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) in 2025 as part of the annual Paris Agreement negotiations (COP) is an (and maybe the last) opportunity for bold climate action plans that propel economies and societies forward. The upcoming 2025 cycle of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) presents a chance for ambitious climate action plans that drive economic and social progress.

The roadmap to halting warming at 1.5°C (which is already rather unlikely to be achieved) and avoiding the worst of climate chaos and catastrophic effects is clear but cannot afford any delays or half measures. Drastic and steep reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions must take place by 2030 and reach at least zero (or more likely net-negative) by 2050 everywhere (and not just net-zero), only achievable through emergency actions.

• The years 2023 and 2024 broke every single climate indicator and were the warmest years on record according to the World Meteorological Organization in decades of continuous and accelerating warming. Global temperatures rose to 1.45°C and 1.6°C respectively, therefore above for the first time the 1.5°C lower limit of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Despite some reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries, concentrations of greenhouse gases reached record high observed levels in 2023 and real-time data in 2024 show greenhouse gases continuing to increase. Carbon dioxide levels are more than  150% above pre-industrial levels.
• To put above temperature increases into context, for example 2°C of average global warming means at least 3°C warming over land, 4-5°C warming over drying land (already more than 40% of land and increasing fast), and 6-8°C hotter during individual day on heat wave conditions (which will double or triple at least) in dry regions. This would mean temperatures of 50°C+ for many days, weeks and months - likely not survivable in the longer run. 
• Perhaps one of the most discussed impacts of climate change are melting ice sheets which causes coastal flooding driven by sea level rise. The IPCC expects a sea level increase of up to one meter by 2100. This would put 800 million people at risk by 2050, not to mention trillions of dollars of real estate and infrastructure in cities like Miami, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, and Shanghai. In the case of low-lying Pacific island nations, such as the Maldives, Tuvalu, and Kiribati, the rising water poses an existential risk.
• According to the WMO, recorded disasters increased fivefold over the past 50 years, driven partly by human-induced climate change.The number of disaster-related deaths and missing persons per 100,000 population (excluding COVID-19 deaths) has nearly halved from 1.62 in the decade 2005-2014 to 0.82 in 2013-2022. However, the absolute number remains high. Between 2013 and 2022, disasters worldwide claimed 42,553 mortalities each year. Further, the number of persons affected by disasters per 100,000 population has increased by over two-third, from 1,169 in 2005-2014 to 1,980 in 2013-2022. In LDCs, the disaster-affected population per 100,000 people is 20 percent higher than the global average, and the mortality rate is 170 percent higher.  In 2023, 129 countries reported the adoption and implementation of national disaster risk reduction strategies, increasing from 55 countries in 2015. Among these countries, 122 countries have reported promoting policy coherence and compliance with the SDGs and the Paris Agreement as a key element in the strategy.
• Between 1993 and 2022, more than 9.400 extreme weather events happened. These killed almost 800.000 people and caused economic damages totaling 4,2 trillion US dollars (inflation-adjusted). While countries like China, India, and the Philippines were primarily affected by recurring extreme events, Dominica, Honduras, Myanmar, and Vanuatu were most affected by exceptional extreme events. With Italy, Spain, and Greece, there are three EU states among the ten most affected countries worldwide over the past 30 years.
• The WHO has calculated that heat kills at least half a million people every year but warns that the real figure could be up to 30 times higher. Europe has so far recorded the highest number of deaths from heat waves, with more than 70,000 deaths in 2003, 60,000 in 2022 and more than 47,000 in 2023. And if we reach 2°C of warming, around a third of the land mass could become too hot to survive for vulnerable populations. Hence heat related fatalities and health issues will escalate exponentially in coming years. 
• About two thirds of emissions comprised CO2 from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes. Except transportation, emissions from all major sectors have rebounded since the pandemic and now exceed 2019 levels. The energy sector, responsible for 86 per cent of global CO2 emissions, remains the largest contributor, driven by the expansion of coal- and gas-fired power generation. Government's plan to produce around 110 percent more fossil fuels by 2030 than would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C (hence very unlikely to be achieved anymore).
• Keeping warming to 1.5°C (which is likely not achievable anymore) calls for a 45 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and by 65% in 2035, requiring an 8.7 percent annual decline (which would require an emergency wartime effort in order to achieve such).The only comparable fall was by 4.7 per cent during the pandemic from 2019 to 2020. Current national policies set the world on track for warming of 3°C. NDCs lower this to 2.7°C, while all net-zero pledges would put warming at 2°C, although these pledges are highly uncertain. There is currently only at best a 14 percent chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C, and much more likely to go beyond 2°C within coming decades, underscoring the urgency of immediate, accelerated emergency action to significantly cut emissions this decade as every 0.1°C makes a hell lot of a difference in impacts.
• Economic impacts of climate change may be much more severe than previously predicted, with more recent studies suggesting that global GDP could drop by an average of around 20% by 2050 and 40% to 70% by 2100, which would be devastating for many economies and cause economic collapse in many regions and countries, also including widespread famines, energy and resources scarcity, collapse of supply chains, skyrocketing unemployment, implosion of social security systems, civil unrest, high potential for larger conflicts and wars, etc, essentially a collapse of civilisations. 
• A study in 2023 of more than 530 grade 9 science and social science subject curricula found that 69% contained no reference to climate change and 66% made no mention of sustainability. However, three-quarters of countries reported they have plans to revise their curricula in the next three years to focus more on climate change and sustainability.
• Climate finance is crucial in backing global mitigation and adaptation efforts. Developed countries committed to mobilize $100 billion annually in climate finance for developing countries by 2020 and through 2025. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports that the commitment was met for the first time in 2022. Climate finance increased by 30 per cent from 2021 to reach $115.9 billion in 2022, with 60 per cent of the total allocated to mitigation. Total adaptation finance rose to $32.4 billion from $10.1 billion in 2016. The 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact urged developed nations to double adaptation finance to developing countries from 2019 levels by 2025. Based on OECD figures, by 2022, developed countries were approximately halfway towards meeting this goal. Negotiations are under way to establish a new climate finance goal from 2025 onwards, starting from a floor of $100 billion annually, and taking into account developing countries' needs and priorities. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) estimates that nearly $6 trillion is needed for developing countries' climate action plans by 2030, underscoring the need to massively scale up finance, hence more than $1 to $1.3 trillion dollars a year will be needed to reach the targets and potential to sufficiently mitigate climate change, something currently way off track at the moment. 

We must learn how to radically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in the next few years, basically at lightning speed, to combat and eventually reverse the harm that we have inflicted on the planet and with it on ourselves.

From eradication of poverty (SDG 1), end hunger (SDG 2), provision of good health and well-being (SDG 3), quality education (SDG 4), and gender equality (SDG 5), clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), affordable and clean energy (SDG7), decent work (SDG 8), infrastructure, industry and innovation (SDG 9), reducing inequalities (SDG 10), sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), especially sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12) life under water (SDG 14) and life on land (SDG 15),  SDG 13 not only connects with all SDGs and their targets  in a direct and indirect manner, but the achievement of SDG 13 is pivotally important to achieve any of the other SDGs hence the type and way of adapting climate policies, work on resilience and climate adaptation, take immediate, decisive emergency climate actions, improve knowledge generation and transfer as well as education, institutional planning as well as increased climate action financing are critical, be it for the environment, for society and economy. SDG 13 is the keystone SDG for all!

After all, If your child is born this year, they are likely going to live through +1.5°C on a permanent basis and substantially more warming by the time they are 25 (2°C or more). A fact that is potentially going to cause a significant drop in the global food supply (by as much as 30% by an increase of 50% on food demand and a third of crop lands suffering under severe droughts) and water availability (putting at least 5 billion people under severe water stress) and a potential significant reduction in the global population by 2050, with associated effects of crop failures, mass starvation, diseases, social and political upheavals and collapse of states and regions, mass migration, leading to further conflicts, decreased security of all and more - in summary civilisational collapse. Of course unless decisive and far reaching  global emergency actions are taken right NOW for all of the SDGs! Collapse is not just on its way, it is already here, and the world as we know it is going to end and our civilisations will collapse (if not already in the process)! 

Key targets and indicators  

SDG 13 is defined by 5 targets, which  are measured by 8  indicators. Due to its importance  by its focus SDG 13 is the major SDG to tackle as it affects the lives of everyone of us and will determine the future world we will inhabit (if at all), ensuring progress can be tracked and goals can be met, that look at all dimensions of climate actions. This goal also looks at climate change mitigation and adaptation, resilience, knowledge generation, exchange and transfer, national climate policies and actions, as well as climate change finances.  The main targets summarised include (if you want to know the exact wording in the Agenda 2030 you should have a look here):

• Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
• Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
• Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
• Implement the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) especially in relation to climate change finances for developing countries
• Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management particularly in least developed countries and small island developing State

The SDGs were adopted about a month and a half before the Paris Agreement on climate change was reached so, while climate action was included before the specific targets of the Paris Agreement were agreed upon by the international community, this is why you will find that the climate goals are much more broad and general than what is included in the Paris Agreement.  Having said that, the UN recognises that all global sustainability frameworks are complementary and reinforcing so the ultimate goal of SDG 13 is to achieve the Paris Agreement.

Challenges & Progress

Progress towards SDG 13 still faces enormous challenges and so far is far too little far too late, and as large and diverse as this SDG is, from raising climate adaptation and resilience, decisive climate mitigation policies, improving climate awareness and resilience measures, climate related planning, and climate mitigation and adaptation financing particularly for developing countries, and lack of progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and on the implementation of the Paris Agreement and more, stifle to implementation of SDG 13.  At the same time due already breaching at least 6 of the 9 planetary boundaries (including of course for climate change and about to breach a seventh boundary for ocean acidification, also directly related to CO2 emissions), using 80% more resources annually than the planet can sustain, with the current 2024 CO2 budget for a likelihood of 50% to stay under 1.5 °C  is 200 gigatonnes CO2, with estimated exhaustion in 2029. The current 2024 budget for a likelihood of 83% to stay under 1.5 °C  is 100 gigatonnes CO2, with estimated exhaustion in 2026. Furthermore the mounting impacts from climate change combined with social inequalities and deprivation of our life support systems  are under increasing pressure and vulnerability, making it more and more difficult for socially equitable and environmentally sustainable development for all to proceed with mounting costs, which by far exceed the costs of mitigation and adaptation (by factors of 6 to 10 and with a possible drop in global GDP of 20% by 2050 and of 50% by about 2070, which would be economic collapse under the current system) aside from the human and environmental suffering and destruction all the way to possible and likely collapse of states and of whole civilisations. 

"Let us take the chances climate actions present, and make them the foundation for a future in prosperity, peace and security for all”, Ban-Ki Moon, former Secretary General of the UN. 

With energy and resources use and carbon emissions on the rise and overshooting the safe carbon budgets next or coming years for limiting climate change to manageable levels but so far no decline in sight, the top urgent implementation of emergency war effort like slashing of greenhouse gas emissions, through far and wide reaching national and international policies and frameworks, wide reaching mitigation and adaptation plans and measures, exponential jumps in financing, and immediate preparations of each and every person for what is going to come our way, is imperative to create climate resilient and sustainable societies and economies that meet the needs of all.

Overall the latest UN SDG progress report on SDG 13 shows very littles progress from regression (climate change policies), to marginal progress (resilience & adaptive capacities, UNFCCC financial commitments), and for some indicators there are so far insufficient data available to determine meaningful trends, but the data are crystal clear we are overall extremely way off track with regional differences and hugely significant acceleration and step change is required on all of  the SDG 13 targets. 

Countries have made some strides in meeting obligations under the agreement in relation to climate adaptation planning and adaptation for resilience, but that is to some extent overwhelmed by the severity, frequency and extent with related costs of climate impacts.

Similarly increases in climate related mitigation financing for developing countries increased in the last few years, but is far outstripped by the financing needed to be able to combat climate change and its impacts   Similarly knowledge generation and sharing or awareness raising for climate change and adaptation resilience has increased, however so far is also way too little too late in order to cope with the severity and extent of impacts, requiring rapid step changes of resources, training and emergency style education at very large scales. 

Our current governance structures and approaches are not responsive enough, and probably not able and willing, to meet the interconnected challenges that result from the accelerated speed and scale of environmental change and rising inequalities. Fragmented and siloed institutions, vested interests, as well as short- term, contradictory and non-inclusive policies have significant potential to put achievement of the global development and sustainability targets at risk. This can be addressed by moving towards holistic and systemic governance approaches’: more integrated, inclusive, equitable, coordinated and adaptive approaches.

If you would like to know more about where your country currently stands with SDG 13 (and all other SDGs), you can check out the latest Sustainable Development Report - Country Profiles (as well as Rankings, Interactive Maps and a Data Explorer), and additional visual presentations available on Our World in Data but of course there are many sources of information and data on various SDG 13 and climate change related topics (in relation to the Paris Agreement), including some like the UN Emissions Gap Report 2024, IPCC  AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023, the 2024 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change, Planetary Health Check, Fossil Fuels non-proliferation treaty, Scientists Warning, Climate Tracker, Climate Interactive, Copernicus,  COP 29, Collision Course and also critical views on the UN climate change process or alternative views on how to achieve (or not) climate mitigation.  

One way again to look at the interconnectedness of climate change on other SDGs is for example by a brief review of current evaluation of climate data (based on data from the recent State of the Global Climate 2024 Report by the WMO)

Human activity has caused drastic changes in the Earth’s climate. The cumulative impact of our actions since the industrial revolution are now in danger of causing dangerous runaway climate change, nearing critical tipping points, with a potential to reach an irreversible ’hothouse earth’ within a few decades. We must drastically and rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep global temperature rise below acceptable and manageable limits of 1.5°C (which is likely not possible anymore, but if at all possible below 2°C). This requires widespread and intensive collaboration at local, regional, national and global scales (i.e. multilateralism).

Despite rising awareness of climate change and the climate emergency, global emissions have increased by more that 60% since 1990 (with the warming effect increasing by 50% in that time), with the increase between 2000 and 2010 was more rapid than the previous three decades and emissions are still on the rise to date with no sign of abating. While the majority of the greenhouse gases that are causing climate change have been released by developed countries over the last two centuries, the immediate already heavily felt and experienced and predicted  future effects will be strongest in the global South and developing countries. This fact requires a new kind of global solidarity and collaboration in regenerative practices worldwide. 

How to ensure we take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts?

As SDG 13 is the core of the Agenda 2030 and SDGs, it is the SDG (together with SDG 12) which will require a true and entire transformation of our economies and societies starting from our relation with nature, the purpose of our economies as an action plan for people, planet and prosperity. Policies addressing climate mitigation and adaptation and social impacts that disproportionately affect the poor and promoting social justice can create greater social cohesion, leading to greater stability and security within societies.

Sustainable and regenerative development and the achievement of viable future societies  requires minimising greenhouse gas emissions to zero or net-negative (and not just net-zero) levels by 2050 at the latest, with the most drastic reductions within the coming decade. 

Achieving Goal 13 requires fostering significant energy (and materials) use reductions and at the same time achieving carbon neutral to carbon negative energy production and consumption and is therefore tightly integrated with the achievement of SDG 12. These approaches can take advantage of opportunities at every stage of fossil fuel and overall energy use, drive innovation, conserve energy and mitigate emissions. Progress largely depends on robust regulatory frameworks, financial incentives and support systems and public awareness and behaviour change campaigns

This requires deep and rapid interventions along a number of entry points involving a range of actors. Public policies are required to create conducive environments and influence the market and economy as a whole, including, along the same lines as for SDG 12 for sustainable public procurement policies and practices to drive sustainable climate mitigation & adaptation innovation, and smart subsidies to divert investments away from environmentally damaging and carbon intensive practices, combined with rigorous carbon targets and reporting requirements by companies also as a basis to gain access to funding and loans. A profound transformation of business practices along global value chains is also required, including new and innovative business models in mitigation and adaptation. Some steps have been taken but implementation at scale remains a huge challenge for the coming years and is so far way too little way too slowly, but must be overcome rapidly, as well as our ability to develop and equitably distribute the socio economic benefits of this transformation. This has of course been the case for  the separate Paris Agreement, which is a complex topic of discovery by itself, suffice to say that progress has been glacially slow and insufficient so far.  Similarly the EU has been working on climate mitigation & adaptation policies as part of their Green Deal for some years now (e.g. Fit for 55 or EU ETS) , with all of the member states required to put their own policies  together in order to achieve the goals, but progress on a practical and scaled level so far is relatively low, slow and with recent political changes in Europe appear to go backwards, including the 90% reduction of GHG by 2040 is considered insufficient for a chance to reach the 1.5°c target, which would at least require net-zero by 2040 at a latest and net-negative by 2050 or before, which is also based on historical responsibility and capacity to act.

Like other SDGs, also SDG 13 and particularly because greenhouse gas emissions are largely responsible for the observed climate change and its wide reaching detrimental to catastrophic consequences. That means that taking measures on combating climate change to achieve safe and resilient but also socially just futures will help us to achieve all of the SDGs if done well and tightly interconnected with all goals in a systemic manner. It must require a multifaceted and multi-dimensional and transformative approach, but in general SDG 13  (combined with the Paris Agreement) is one of the very complex and the most far reaching and tightly interconnected (with other) SDGs to tackle which will require transformations on many levels like poverty, hunger, health, education, social protection, decent work, energy, water, sanitation, agriculture, industry, environmental protection, production and consumption, waste management and more, particularly for vulnerable and disadvantaged peoples, regions and countries. Some of the more higher level (and often global to national) aspects of achieving SDG 13 should at least include in summary (but by far not be limited to) of what is already spelled out in the targets, something like the following, which aim to create a holistic approach to various interconnected areas of climate adaptation and mitigation, with an emphasis on rapid emergency style policies and their implementation to have a chance to stay as close as possible within the 1.5. Avoiding climate tunnel vision (i.e. reducing environmental, social and economic issues to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions) and single issue simple fixes must be avoided. Furthermore a number of policy options are already included in and mentioned in other SDGs as well, which directly relate to SDG 13 and as SDGs are interconnected they require parallel implementation as a whole and transformative system in order to achieve the desired outcomes and there are a huge number of resources on potential solutions available, one of which is Project Drawdown, but to beware that energy systems and technical solutions alone will not be sufficient at all, but be part of necessary emergency actions:

Carbon Pricing  

• Carbon Taxes and Cap-and-Trade: Implementing carbon pricing mechanisms, such as carbon taxes or cap-and-trade systems, to direct industries to reduce their carbon emissions by making pollution costly. Alternatives could also be carbon budgets in order to increase speed and level of impact rapidly.
• Other taxes may include a plane ticket tax or jet fuel tax, carbon levy on shipping, plastics tax, wealth tax, financial transactions tax, cryptocurrency tax, and more and all of which could help to gather the necessary funds for moving towards carbon negative futures. 
• Subsidy Reforms: Rapidly phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and redirecting those funds toward clean energy and other GHG reduction solutions.
• Nature Based Solution (NBS): Implementing policies and financing to scale up large scale carbon removal options, like appropriate reforestation and revegetation more generally (including depaving), combat soil degradation and improve soil health and restoring and rewetting of wetlands, peat bogs and marsh lands. 

Promotion of Renewable Energy

• Investment in Clean Energy: Significantly increase public and private investment in renewable energy technologies (solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, wave,  etc.).
• Incentives for Green & Regenerative Technologies: Offering tax incentives and subsidies for businesses and households to convert to renewable energy systems for any uses (heating/cooling, power, transport etc) and use of efficient technologies and appliances (based on circular economy principles).
• Energy Efficiency Standards: Enforcing strict energy efficiency standards for buildings, appliances, and industrial processes.
• Energy Use Reduction measures: Implement policies which aim to significantly reduce overall and end use energy consumption to achieve energy sufficiency. 

Climate Resilience and Adaptation

• Adaptation Planning: Developing national and local to regional adaptation strategies and plans down to an individual and household level to manage climate risks, especially in vulnerable communities and regions.
• Disaster Risk Reduction: Strengthening disaster preparedness and response frameworks and plans  to reduce the impacts of extreme weather events and resilience towards disasters.
• Regenerative Agriculture: Promoting sustainable agricultural practices that increase resilience to climate change, such as drought-resistant crops and water-efficient irrigation, restoration of soils, like agroecology, agro-forestry and many more. 

Regulation and Legislation

• Emissions Reduction Targets: Setting binding national and sector specific emissions reduction targets consistent with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C or well below 2°C including all GHG and devising policies for determining thresholds and allocations.
• Zero-Carbon Transportation: Implementing policies to reduce fossil fuel dependence and phase out its use, and invest in clean public transportation (like rail, bus, active and shared transport) to become accessible for everyone everywhere.
• Land Use and Forest Protection: Enforcing policies to prevent deforestation, promote reforestation, and support sustainable land use practices to enhance carbon sequestration.
• No further exploration licences for new oil or gas fields nor for any new coal mines and only allow for rapid reduction of production from existing fields/mines to support the rapid transition towards alternative non-fossil fuel energy sources and energy sufficiency measures. 
• Redirect public and private funding away from fossil fuels and degenerative technologies to support the implementation of various GHG reduction measures (technical, natural and social) 

Research and Development

• Innovation in Green & Regenerative Technologies: Supporting R&D into new, cost-effective solutions for reducing emissions and enhancing carbon reduction.
• Green & Regenerative Jobs Creation: Stimulating job creation in green and regenerative sectors through innovation, funding and infrastructure development.

International Cooperation and Financing

• Climate Finance for Developing Countries: Ensuring adequate climate finance flows and technology transfer to developing countries to help them mitigate and adapt to climate change, which needs to include adequate financing for loss and damages and climate reparation payments. 
• Global Collaboration: Strengthening international partnerships to meet climate goals, share knowledge, and align policies across borders.

Public Awareness and Education

• Climate Education: Integrating strong and extensive climate change education (as part of wider education for sustainable development)  into school and all levels of education curricula and public awareness and empowerment campaigns to foster greater understanding and action.
• Community Involvement: Engaging communities, particularly marginalized groups, in the planning and implementation of climate policies and empowering communities to create their own climate mitigation and adaptation plans, projects and initiatives, particularly for marginalized, vulnerable and indigenous communities.

Insurance companies warn that climate change driven natural catastrophes and sea-level rise will make many locations and infrastructures uninsurable, as the economic costs of these disasters will severely challenge economies nationally and globally. Climate change is the single most important threat to development, the global economy and the future of humanity. Investment in climate change mitigation & adaptation is investment in the future of our species and life on Earth.
The last 2 decades were the hottest period on record, with the last two years (2023 and 2024) the hottest ever recorded and 2024 breached the 1.5°C global temperature increase for the first time. For each degree of temperature increase, grain yields decline by about 5%. Maize, wheat and other major crops experienced significant global yield reductions of 40 megatons per year from 1981 to 2002 due to warmer climate and this is accelerating. Sea ice, glaciers and the polar ice caps are melting at unprecedented rates, ocean acidity is rising (and almost breaching a planetary boundary threshold), and coral bleeding is devastating (and past the point of no return). Human actions have caused the 6th greatest mass existing since life on Earth began, undermining humanity's survival. 

Instead of putting too much emphasis on generic larger scale ‘solutions’, which are likely somewhat removed from the realities and contexts of many local communities wherever they are and these and similar policies are likely not sufficient to steer us towards regenerative futures. And because the supported approach by Gaia Education for regenerative design and development, is about the context specific potential of each and every place and community. Hence, we want to support the life affirming or life regenerating local to bioregional conversations and co-creative processes which should be a starting point of whole systems based realisation of SDG 13 and all strongly linked and all other SDG systemically together. From this we provide some useful questions to ask yourself or a group you work with locally in relation to SDG 13 (sourced from the Gaia Education SDG Flashcards) in a multidimensional manner in the social, ecological, economic and worldview/cultural dimensions. SDG 13 which is about local to bioregional communities is particularly suitable for applying community level processes (in cities or elsewhere alike) for tackling this and all related SDGs head on. 

As you already know the SDG Flashcards can provide you with some ideas on how one can possibly work with the SDGs in different (not top down but bottom up) and generative approaches. Based and part of the Gaia Education SDG Flashcards, they contain more than 200 questions on the system-wide approach to achieving the 2030 Agenda.

The cards enable a participatory and problem-centric group conversation and solutions oriented multi-perspectival dialogue. They invite participants to engage and to collaborate to identify actions and solutions to implement the SDGs in ways that are relevant to their lives and communities, locally. This is an effective way to establish local to bioregional community ownership and realisation for the UN SDGs.

The SDG Flashcards are used in the SDG Training of Multipliers. Check out the freely downloadable SDG Training of Multipliers Handbook for a detailed description of how to prepare, promote, and how to use these cards  more easily to promote community activist training, in various settings (e.g. local public bodies, communities, schools, universities, business etc.) as well as many other tools from our SDG webpages.

There are of course many examples of working on SDG 13  and  climate action sometimes also in a systemic way  (Post 0). 

Gaia Education is involved in educational and training offerings which support the implementation of the SDGs including SDG 13, but is also part of projects and initiatives where at least one, mostly several SDGs are targeted. Examples of training or project involvement with some focus on SDG 13  in a wider sense are: 

Gaia Yes! Project

With accelerating climate change and fast decreasing biodiversity, our planet is facing a convergence of multiple crises. The next generation must be given the opportunity to gain the tools to become both resilient and innovative in the face of these issues. Education has a crucial role to play here, in preparing young people for these challenges now and into the future.

An education for sustainable development approach can foster change, encouraging students to adopt multiple worldviews and to design solutions. This type of education is, however, rarely reflected within school curricula, meaning young people lack the chance to develop this holistic vision.

Gaia Yes means Youth Education for Sustainability, and it’s a project financed by the European Union Erasmus + Strategic Partnership from September 2020 to August 2022.

During these two years a consortium of 5 European organisations from Scotland (Gaia Education), Netherlands (Gaia Nederland), Spain (Perma Med) and Estonia (Gaia Kool and Tallinn University). These five organisations across Europe with expertise in ESD and the wider education sphere came together and initiated this project.

By holistically integrating existing international knowledge, skills and approaches for sustainable development into the education systems of different countries, the project aims to provide the resources and space for young learners to develop the awareness, values and behaviours needed to take active roles in their own contexts. 

The project set out to develop a comprehensive international curriculum in support of sustainable development, develop a Guide for Educators and develop an online learning environment for young people and educators

Both the Curriculum for Youth and the Guide for Educators offers teachers and curriculum developers opportunities and suggestions surrounding how to bring sustainable development issues to young people and educational institutions. Project partner Gaia School in Estonia has been piloting a version of the new ESD curriculum.

IN:PACT Project (Empowering Youth Through Participatory Innovation)

What does it take to empower youth as change-makers in their communities?

In November 2024, Gaia Education and its partners officially launched the IN.PACT project—a two-year Erasmus+ initiative aimed at equipping young people and youth workers with participatory skills to foster inclusion and resilience. The kickoff meeting brought together four organisations from Spain, France, Italy, and Belgium, setting the stage for a transformative collaboration.

IN.PACT addresses pressing issues faced by young Europeans, particularly those in vulnerable situations such as NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) and young migrants. By providing tools, training, and spaces for meaningful engagement, IN.PACT empowers these individuals to become change-makers in their communities.

The project focuses on three key objectives: Creating a collaborative network, enhancing skills and capacities and reducing marginalisation: 

We are particularly excited about the innovative "Smart Labs," which will serve as participatory spaces for hands-on learning. These labs will act as incubators for social innovation, where young people can experiment with new ideas, develop leadership skills, and drive community projects.

As a collective, the IN.PACT partners are committed to co-creating a roadmap for sustainable impact. The project outcomes will include a training manual, an interactive map of participatory practices, and replicable guidelines for Smart Labs—ensuring that the work continues beyond the project's lifecycle.

How does your local community's climate action SDG project or initiative look like? 

Again, let’s take our future into our own hands, and start your SDG journey and locally to bio-regionally based community project or initiative now!

And to close if you would like to learn much more about SDG 13 and all other SDGs and the Agenda 2030 and many more topics, approaches and methods to practically work with the SDG in your local to bioregional context we encourage you  to start or re-invigorate your personal SDG journey through the upcoming online SDGs Multipliers course, starting on 20th October 2025. 

For more and the video affine the SDG 13 Climate Action - UN Sustainable Development Goals - DEEP DIVE and on what may be needed to move forward to achieving the SDGs in context of accelerating climate change a need for re-alining the SDGs with decisive climate actions. 

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