A world that combats climate change and implements the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is possible says a study bei PIK, DIE and Goethe University Frankfurt.
In a new study, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) and the Goethe University Frankfurt developed a Sustainable Development Pathway (SDP) that combines ambitious climate action with specific measures for development, access to food and energy, global and national justice as well as ecological sustainability. With this interdisciplinary, scenario-based approach all 17 SDGs and their interactions were modelled for the first time. The study was published in the renowned journal Nature Climate Change on August 2, 2021.
Climate change must not be tackled as an isolated issue but climate action must be combined with a broad sustainability strategy. This necessity results from the analysis. Political factors are decisive as well. However, they have been neglected in previous studies. Dr. Julia Leininger, head of the research programme ‘Transformation of political (dis-)order’ at DIE, and Christopher Wingens, researcher at DIE, contributed analyses and modellings of political institutions and violent conflict along the Sustainable Development Pathway until 2050 together with Prof. Constantin Ruhe, Goethe University Frankfurt. “Urgent action is needed globally to tackle climate change and achieve sustainable development. Strong, inclusive political institutions and peace are key factors for the holistic implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the SDGs”, says Dr. Julia Leininger.
Study:
Bjoern Soergel, Elmar Kriegler, Isabelle Weindl, Sebastian Rauner, Alois Dirnaichner, Constantin Ruhe, Matthias Hofmann, Nico Bauer, Christoph Bertram, Benjamin Leon Bodirsky, Marian Leimbach, Julia Leininger, Antoine Levesque, Gunnar Luderer, Michaja Pehl, Christopher Wingens, Lavinia Baumstark, Felicitas Beier, Jan Philipp Dietrich, Florian Humpenöder, Patrick von Jeetze, David Klein, Johannes Koch, Robert Pietzcker, Jessica Strefler, Hermann Lotze-Campen, Alexander Popp (2021): A sustainable development pathway for climate action within the UN 2030 Agenda. Nature Climate Change. DOI: 10.1038/s41558-021-01098-3
Research Contact at the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
