Leveraging Solutions: Smart Policies, Plans, and Actions

Integrating SDGs in Asia: an Action Menu for Policymakers

Most countries will focus on achieving some, not all, of the 169 targets included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Selecting a limited number of targets runs counter to recommendations that governments treat the SDGs as a single, indivisible agenda. Research underlining synergies and trade-offs across several policy objectives suggests that integrated approaches may offer governments a way to work on multiple objectives at the same time. Several recent studies demonstrate these integrated approaches can help identify SDG targets that, in turn, make progress on other targets. These studies complement research on urban systems, co-benefits, and food-water energy enxus showing potential efficiency gains and cost savings from pursuing multiple objectives. Multi-objective solutions can however necessitate reconciling competing interests; this can pose a challenge for governments in Asia. It is therefore imperative for researchers and policymakers to consider how to connect analyses of multiple benefits to decision-making processes engaging multiple stakeholders. This session will aim to map how countries can make those connections when implementing the SDGs across Asia.

The session will be organised into five sections. It will begin with an intervention from IGES Quantitative Analysis Centre that demonstrates the nature of SDG interlinkages based on social network analysis; this will be followed by presentations from IGES work on nexus, co-benefits, and urban systems that demonstrate potential and challenges for working with multiple objectives and stakeholders; remarks from policymakers from Japan and Indonesia/Thailand will then draw upon their own experiences to offer a practical perspective on this potential and limitations. A summary of these contributions-based on a short paper-will aim to synthesise diverse perspectives on integrated approach to the SDGs.

Related Publications

Research Report

Sustainable Development Goals Interlinkages and Network Analysis: A Practical Tool for SDG Integration and Policy Coherence

Policy Report

SDGs and Business in Practice - Early Actions by Japanese Private Companies

Briefing Note

Implications of the 2017 G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, for Climate Change, Green Finance and Sustainable Development Goals