Aligning Development Co-operation and Climate Action
The Only Way Forward
Climate change is altering the ecological and social systems that underpin human well-being and economic activity, and developing countries are particularly vulnerable to its impact on the growth and sustainable development prospects of every sector and community. Being part of the solution requires all providers of development co-operation to align their activities with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. However many still lack the mandates, resources, incentives and strategies to do so. This report outlines how providers can make changes at home, in developing countries and in the international development co-operation system, to help create low-emissions, climate-resilient economies, and how they can avoid supporting activities that lock the world into an unsustainable future.
How can development co‑operation align with the objectives of the Paris Agreement?
This chapter presents a framework for how development co-operation can align with the Paris Agreement by supporting increased levels of ambition for tackling climate change and ceasing activities that undermine sustainable development.At home, donor countries and providers can address these issues through their own strategies, policies and operations. In developing countries, providers should support central, in-country actors to take ambitious climate action by including climate objectives in overarching development strategies and sector policies and plans. At the system level, basic definitions and common approaches should account for the climate dimension of sustainable development; providers should tackle fragmentation in data, finance and project standards; and providers should create a partnership to achieve systemic de-risking of low-emissions, climate-resilient infrastructure investments in developing countries.