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Implications of sustainable development considerations for comparability across nationally determined contributions

Author

Listed:
  • Gokul Iyer

    (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

  • Katherine Calvin

    (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

  • Leon Clarke

    (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

  • James Edmonds

    (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

  • Nathan Hultman

    (University of Maryland)

  • Corinne Hartin

    (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

  • Haewon McJeon

    (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

  • Joseph Aldy

    (Harvard University)

  • William Pizer

    (Duke University)

Abstract

An important component of the Paris Agreement is the assessment of comparability across nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Indeed, game-theory literature on international environmental agreements highlights the need for comparable emission-mitigation efforts by countries to avoid free-riding 1 . At the same time, there are well-recognized links between mitigation and other national priorities, including but not limited to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)2–6, which raises the question of how such links might influence comparability assessments. Here, using a global integrated assessment model 7 , we demonstrate that geographical distributions of the influence of meeting the domestic mitigation component of the NDCs on a subset of the broader SDGs may not align with distributions of effort across NDCs obtained from conventional emissions-based or cost-based comparability metrics8–11. This implies that comparability assessments would be altered if interactions between mitigation and other SDGs were accounted for. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the extent to which these distributions differ depends on the degree to which mitigation activities directly affect broader SDGs domestically and indirectly affect international goals, and whether these effects are synergistic or antagonistic. Our analysis provides a foundation for assessing how comparability across NDCs could be better understood in the larger context of sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Gokul Iyer & Katherine Calvin & Leon Clarke & James Edmonds & Nathan Hultman & Corinne Hartin & Haewon McJeon & Joseph Aldy & William Pizer, 2018. "Implications of sustainable development considerations for comparability across nationally determined contributions," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 8(2), pages 124-129, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:8:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1038_s41558-017-0039-z
    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-017-0039-z
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fabio Zagonari, 2020. "Environmental sustainability is not worth pursuing unless it is achieved for ethical reasons," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Campagnolo, Lorenza & Davide, Marinella, 2019. "Can the Paris deal boost SDGs achievement? An assessment of climate mitigation co-benefits or side-effects on poverty and inequality," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 96-109.
    3. Mario Larch & Joschka Wanner, 2019. "The Consequences of Unilateral Withdrawals from the Paris Agreement," CESifo Working Paper Series 7804, CESifo.
    4. Kathryn J. Bowen & Nabreesa Murphy & Sarah Dickin & Adis Dzebo & Charles Ebikeme, 2021. "Health Synergies across International Sustainability and Development Agendas: Pathways to Strengthen National Action," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-16, February.
    5. Marinella Davide & Enrica De Cian & Alexis Bernigaud, 2019. "Building a Framework to Understand the Energy Needs of Adaptation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-32, July.
    6. Krzysztof Kluza & Magdalena Zioło & Iwona Bąk & Anna Spoz, 2021. "Achieving Environmental Policy Objectives through the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals. The Case for European Union Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-22, April.
    7. Gokul Iyer & Yang Ou & James Edmonds & Allen A. Fawcett & Nathan Hultman & James McFarland & Jay Fuhrman & Stephanie Waldhoff & Haewon McJeon, 2022. "Ratcheting of climate pledges needed to limit peak global warming," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 12(12), pages 1129-1135, December.
    8. Efraim Hernández-Orozco & Ivonne Lobos-Alva & Mario Cardenas-Vélez & David Purkey & Måns Nilsson & Piedad Martin, 2022. "The application of soft systems thinking in SDG interaction studies: a comparison between SDG interactions at national and subnational levels in Colombia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 8930-8964, June.
    9. Gungor, Gorkem & Sari, Ramazan, 2022. "Nuclear power and climate policy integration in developed and developing countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    10. Pahle, Michael & Schaeffer, Roberto & Pachauri, Shonali & Eom, Jiyong & Awasthy, Aayushi & Chen, Wenying & Di Maria, Corrado & Jiang, Kejun & He, Chenmin & Portugal-Pereira, Joana & Safonov, George & , 2021. "The crucial role of complementarity, transparency and adaptability for designing energy policies for sustainable development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    11. Khanyisa B. Mantlana & Malebajoa A. Maoela & Godwell Nhamo, 2021. "Mapping South Africaʼs nationally determined contributions to the targets of the sustainable development goals," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 45(1), pages 3-17, February.

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