On 15 November 2024, a UNU side event at the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP29) in Baku explored approaches to move beyond fragmented policymaking on climate change and sustainable development. It highlighted opportunities to integrate the SDGs into the national climate plans (nationally determined contributions; NDCs) that are due in 2025 ahead of COP30.

The event was co-organized by UNU and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), building on previous collaboration between the UN University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) and DESA — including the Third Global Conference on Climate–SDG Synergies and a series of expert group meetings in March 2024. 

This included UNU-IAS research on socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) through IPSI, and policy briefs published by the UNU Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) on green hydrogen regional alliances, and on ecosystem-based approaches for integrating DRR, climate, land and biodiversity goals. Read the full story on the UNU-IAS website.