The SDG Climate Action Nexus tool (SCAN-tool) is designed to provide high-level guidance on how mitigation actions can impact achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It can support policy makers to achieve greater policy coherence and to improve the efficiency of implementation by providing them with an initial indication of which climate actions may impact -positively or negatively- specific SDG targets.  

The SCAN-tool can also potentially inform the process of putting forward increasingly ambitious pledges of climate action, required every five years under the ambition mechanism of the Paris Agreement. A better understanding of how climate action can reinforce the achievement of SDG targets may increase countries’ confidence to put forward more ambitious NDCs and improve political buy-in.

Key findings:

A first overview of the results (see table below) highlights the following key findings:

• In total, 886 linkages were identified between sector-specific actions and SDG targets, with a further 30 identified between general interventions and SDG targets. This important number of links highlights the opportunity and need to approach implementation in an integrated manner.
• Synergies outweigh trade-offs for most of the SDGs (in fact, the majority (76%) of linkages identified in the tool are positive).
• The SDG agenda in itself is extensive and complex, comprising a total of 167 targets under the 17 goal dimensions. In many cases the targets overlap or even duplicate, thus complicating their attribution to individual subsectors and mitigation actions. This complexity and inter-relatedness within the SDG agenda is difficult to capture in a simplified tool.
• Many or perhaps all of the linkages are ultimately very context specific. To understand and manage the synergies and trade-offs, countries will need to undertake a systematic review of individual mitigation actions in their specific context. The SCAN-tool helps indicate where to start with that exercise.