— Ch. 1 · The 2015 UN Assembly Vote —
Sustainable Development Goal 13.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
In July 2017, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing Sustainable Development Goal 13. This goal carries the official mission statement to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. The framework emerged from a broader set of seventeen global goals designed for achievement by the year 2030. Prior to this formal adoption, nations had been negotiating the terms of these objectives since 2015. The resolution A/RES/71/313 marked a pivotal moment in international environmental policy history. It shifted the focus from voluntary agreements to a standardized system with measurable targets. The document explicitly linked SDG 13 to other critical areas like clean energy access under Goal 7. This connection ensured that climate action would not be viewed in isolation but as part of a larger development strategy.
Five Targets And Indicators
Target 13.1 requires countries to strengthen resilience against climate-related hazards and natural disasters. Indicator 13.1.1 tracks the number of deaths, missing people, and directly affected individuals per 100,000 population. By April 2020, the count of nations adopting national disaster risk reduction strategies rose to 118. This figure represents a significant increase from the initial 48 countries recorded at the start of the Sendai Framework era. Target 13.2 focuses on integrating climate measures into national policies and planning processes. Indicator 13.2.2 monitors total greenhouse gas emissions generated each year. Between 2000 and 2018, developed countries saw their emissions decline by 6.5 percent. In contrast, developing nations experienced an emission rise of 43 percent between 2000 and 2013. Target 13.3 aims to improve education and institutional capacity regarding mitigation and adaptation strategies. Indicator 13.3.1 assesses how deeply global citizenship education is embedded within national curricula. As of September 2020, no data existed for this specific indicator.