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2017 Interconnections Conference

12 May 2017 - 13 May 2017
Bonn, Germany

Integrated and inclusive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Paris Agreement, the New Urban Agenda, and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda is crucial. The Interconnections conference will convene leading scholars, leading experts, and policy makers from relevant fields to exchange ideas and to build bridges between sustainable development and climate change.

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda (including 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the Financing for Development Process) and the Paris Climate Agreement offers a unique opportunity to move towards more integrated and balanced development. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without addressing climate change whose impacts have the potential to halt or even reverse development achievements. Conversely, actions to address climate change mitigation and adaptation should also deliver on core issues of sustainable development, including poverty alleviation, food security, gender equality and human rights.

The strategic engagement of state and non-state actors and cooperative initiatives can create synergies between multiple political processes that address climate change and sustainable development, for instance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the High Level Political Forum, UNFCCC, the New Urban Agenda, G20, and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA). However, such engagements need to involve stakeholders across developed and developing countries to deliver equitable results. Integrated and inclusive implementation is especially crucial for sustainable development in developing countries as they are particularly vulnerable. Against this background, the Interconnections conference (12-13 May 2017, Bonn) will convene leading scholars, leading experts, and policy makers from relevant fields to exchange ideas and to build bridges between sustainable development and climate change.

The Interconnections Conference will address the following questions:

  • Which linkages at the international level between the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement can foster non-state and subnational synergies and accelerate the transition towards a sustainable and climate smart future?
  • How to increase and mobilize national and local capacity, including institutional, planning, financing and statistical capacities, for non-state and subnational action that delivers on both agendas?
  • How can the role of non-state and subnational actors in implementing the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement be strengthened at the national level?

Source and further information: interconnections2017.org