Bangkok Conference Takes Synergies to Next Level, Aiming to Deliver Integrated Action on Climate and Sustainable Development Crises
Moving from advocacy to action, participants at the Seventh Global Conference on Climate and SDG Synergies, held 29-30 June in Bangkok, took the push for greater synergies to the next level, seeking integrated solutions to the interlinked crises that the world faces — including climate impacts, environmental devastation, debt burdens and disruptions to energy and food supplies.
Government Ministers, international leaders and experts, youth and activists, building on years of growing the evidence-base, took the opportunity in Bangkok to focus on practical synergistic applications in cities, transport and nature-based solutions, and how to deliver systemic change at the scale and speed needed.
Attended by over 300 participants from over 30 countries, along with nearly 1500 online viewers, the Conference was co-convened by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and UN Climate Change (UNFCCC), in collaboration with the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), which hosted the meeting at their headquarters.
|
Photo by IISD/ENB | Natalia Mroz
|
High-Level Calls for Action
A number of distinguished leaders, including Government Ministers and heads of international organizations, lent their voices to the drive to integrate climate and sustainable development policy and action.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, noting the evidence that synergistic approaches can make public spending up to 40% more efficient, called for action to break down silos across ministries; financing that creates incentives for solutions, especially among vulnerable populations; and stronger partnerships among governments, the UN system, business and young people.
|
Photos by IISD/ENB | Natalia Mroz
|
Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua of UN DESA and Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, both echoed the call to unlock and align capital, stating that the USD 300 billion pledged to developing countries for climate change must be delivered and finance scaled up. Mr. Li noted that climate and development goals can and must be jointly financed, particularly through climate adaptation, renewable energy and nature-based solutions, and Mr. Stiell also urged implementation of the goal to triple finance for adaptation. President of the UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock and ECOSOC President Lok Bahadur Thapa also voiced their support for integrated action.
|
Photos by IISD/ENB | Natalia Mroz
|
A Conference summary included these calls for enhanced financing and partnerships among its key messages and action points, and also invited countries to update their climate and development strategies and plans with greater synergies in mind — including their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, National Adaptation Plans, and strategies on biodiversity and disaster risk reduction.
|
Photos by IISD/ENB | Natalia Mroz
|
Thematic Synergies
The two-day programme wove together roundtables and thematic sessions addressing specific pieces of the climate–SDG agenda. Discussions ranged from keynotes and expert viewpoints to multi-stakeholder and youth dialogues on breaking down silos and unlocking climate and development action. Nine thematic dialogues explored a range of integrated solutions — spanning the energy transition, sustainable transport, nature-based solutions, smart cities, water-health and climate nexus, climate justice, the challenges facing small island nations, and aligning national priorities and partnerships — all in service of the Conference's broader push to strengthen policy coherence and promote integrated governance, financing and implementation.
|
Regional Synergies
An Asia-Pacific Synergy Report launched at the Conference, prepared jointly by ESCAP, UNEP, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Institute for Global Environmental Studies (IGES) with support from Japan’s Ministry of Environment, presented over 140 case studies from across the region, including many by cities and local governments, on how to integrate action on the SDGs and the triple planetary crisis. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of ESCAP, said that the report shows that synergistic action is "not only possible, but also practical."
Based on this work, a back-to-back session of ESCAP's ministerial-level Committee on Environment and Development adopted the Regional Programme of Action on Advancing Synergies for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific, 2026–2030. It targets the worsening "triple planetary crisis" (climate change, biodiversity loss, and severe pollution) as 88% of SDG targets are projected to be missed by 2030. Conference participants encouraged other regions to pursue similar research and plans.
|
Looking Ahead
The closing session included a youth dialogue, where young leaders and activists urged that their voices continue to shape climate–SDG decision-making beyond Bangkok. Closing remarks reflected on how far the synergies movement has come: what began as a largely theoretical concept in 2019 is now taking shape on the ground, with practical tools developed, growing mainstreaming across institutions, and increasing recognition in intergovernmental processes. Still, participants agreed that integrated climate and SDG action is not yet happening at the scale and speed required — and it was hoped the Conference would inspire everyone in attendance to carry this work forward in their own spheres of activity.
|
Participants called for the Conference's key messages and recommendations to feed directly into the packed intergovernmental calendar ahead: the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in New York this July, the UN General Assembly's High-Level Week in September, and COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye this November — each offering a critical juncture to translate the Bangkok discussions into stronger climate commitments, updated national plans, and scaled-up financing for integrated action. A full summary of the Conference, including recommendations and key messages, will be posted on the Conference website in due course.
|
“We must solve the climate emergency and sustainable development
challenges together, or we will not solve them at all.”
~Expert Group on Climate and SDG Synergies
|
|
.png){kind=logo}
.png)
