The UN discussions and negotiations identified the links between the post-2015 SDG process and the Financing for Development process that concluded in Addis Ababa in July 2015 and the COP 21 Climate Change conference in Paris in December 2015.[68]
In May 2015, a report concluded that only a very ambitious climate deal in Paris in 2015 could enable countries to reach the sustainable development goals and targets.[69] The report also states that tackling climate change will only be possible if the SDGs are met. Further, economic development and climate change are inextricably linked, particularly around poverty, gender equality, and energy. The UN encourages the public sector to take initiative in this effort to minimize negative impacts on the environment.[70]
This renewed emphasis on climate change mitigation was made possible by the partial Sino-American convergence that developed in 2015–2016, notably at the UN COP21 summit (Paris) and ensuing G20 conference (Hangzhou).[55]
At a 2017 UN Press Briefing, Global CEO Alliance (GCEOA) Chairman James Donovan described the Asia-Pacific region, which is a region particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, as needing more public-private partnerships (PPPs) to successfully implement its sustainable development initiatives.[71]
In 2018, the International Panel of Climate Change (IPCC),[72] the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change, published a special report “Global Warming of 1.5°C”[73]. It outlined the impacts of a 1.5 °C global temperature rise above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, and highlighted the possibility of avoiding a number of such impacts by limiting global warming to 1.5 °C compared to 2 °C, or more. The report mentioned that this would require global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) to fall by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching “net zero” around 2050, through “rapid and far-reaching” transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities.[74] This special report was subsequently discussed at COP 24. Despite being requested by countries at the COP 21, the report was not accepted by four countries – the US, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait, which only wanted to “note” it, thereby postponing the resolution to the next SBSTA session in 2019.