Three reports were launched on 22 July by experts convened by the UN, showing how greater impact can be achieved by breaking down silos and tackling the climate change and sustainable development crises together. Recognizing that biodiversity loss, land degradation and climate change are deeply interlinked, the expert report entitled How Nature Conservation Can Advance SDG and Climate Action notes that Nature-based solutions —including conservation, restoration, and ecosystem management—can deliver up to 37% of cost-effective CO? mitigation by 2030. It also points out that ecosystem services like water supply, pollination and climate regulation are vital for achieving the SDGs. Financing is a major issue: although over 50% of global GDP depends on nature, harmful subsidies ($7 trillion/year) and externalities ($10–$25 trillion/year) far exceed conservation funding. Integrated policies are urgently needed to align biodiversity and climate goals with financing: there is an annual shortfall of $700 billion for biodiversity and up to $359 billion for climate adaptation.

Three reports were launched on 22 July by experts convened by the UN, showing how greater impact can be achieved by breaking down silos and tackling the climate change and sustainable development crises together. With the majority of the global population residing in cities, which also account for the majority of GHG emissions, there is great potential to improve public health through climate action with high-impact co-benefits, according to the expert report on Linking Climate and Health Action in Cities. Reducing air pollution by replacing fossil fuels with clean energy could prevent up to 1.2 million premature deaths annually by 2040, with up to 4.7 million additional lives saved if measures against black carbon and methane are adopted. A shift to plant-based diets could prevent 10–11 million premature deaths yearly. Infrastructure promoting walking and cycling can cut emissions, improve cardiovascular health, and reduce mortality, and increasing urban tree cover to 30% could prevent over 2,600 heat-related deaths each summer in Europe alone. Financial and technical support at the national and international levels is vital to enables cities—especially in the Global South—to implement such synergistic strategies.

Three reports were launched on 22 July by experts convened by the UN, showing how greater impact can be achieved by breaking down silos and tackling the climate change and sustainable development crises together. Looking at how synergies can provide solutions, the expert report on Closing the Climate and Disaster Protection Gap notes that, even as climate-related disasters intensify and undermine development, currently 62% of global economic losses from natural catastrophes are uninsured. Even a 1% increase in insurance coverage would move countries 5.8% closer to achieving the SDGs, the report concludes, recommending that disaster risk financing be integrated into national development plans and noting that a sustained, coordinated effort by a broad range of stakeholders is needed to close the climate and disaster insurance gap.

This thematic report notes that cities account for more than 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions and host more than half of the world’s population. It recommends that city-level action should focus on reducing demand for carbon-intensive goods and services, including through more sustainable transport, more efficient heating and lighting, and shifts toward more plant-based diets. It highlights reforms in four key sectors—cooling, building energy efficiency, sustainable transport, and waste management—as priority pathways to advance climate and SDG synergies.

This thematic report highlights that the global financing gap for the SDGs is expected to exceed USD 4 trillion annually by 2030. It argues that integrated action on climate and the SDGs can help reduce investment gaps and improve the effectiveness of resources. The report calls for shifting development assistance standards and targets to provide better support for the Global South.

This thematic report calls for breaking down institutional silos and improving coordination across ministries and government departments to tackle climate change and advance the SDGs together. It stresses that the SDGs should be fully integrated into all relevant national processes and priorities, including NDCs. The report points to 2025—when Parties are expected to submit new NDCs—as a major opportunity to bridge climate ambition gaps while strengthening sustainable development outcomes.

Building on the first global report, this second report provides a practical roadmap to overcome fragmentation and accelerate integrated implementation. It draws on extensive multi-stakeholder inputs and thematic work to identify synergies between climate action and the SDGs. The report offers recommendations across finance, policy frameworks, cities, and knowledge & data—highlighting solutions that deliver co-benefits and minimize trade-offs ahead of more ambitious NDCs.