Integrated approaches

Global challenges such as climate change and the eradication of hunger are closely interwoven. That is why the 2030 Agenda attaches great importance to ensuring that the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability go hand in hand and are not weighed up against each other. As a principle, this integrated approach also underpins the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They are indivisible and must be seen not in isolation but as a whole. There are many links between the 17 SDGs and the 169 targets. Work to achieve the targets needs to harness positive synergies. It is also important to watch out for trade-offs, for example between climate action and economic growth. No goal should be implemented at the expense of another.

The Global Sustainable Development Report emphasises the need for integrated approaches. It identifies six entry points where actions can have impacts across all the SDGs. These are: human well-being and capabilities; sustainable and just economies; sustainable food systems and healthy nutrition; energy decarbonisation with universal access; urban and peri-urban development; and the global environmental commons. Targeting holistic approaches at these entry points makes it possible to contribute to achieving several SDGs at the same time. Integrated approaches that contribute to multiple goals simultaneously are essential if the ambitious timetable of the 2030 Agenda is to be met and the SDGs achieved by 2030.

As GIZ's work in Viet Nam clearly shows, the SDGs have reciprocal impacts. The country has developed quickly since comprehensive reforms were introduced in 1990, but the rapid economic growth required high inputs of labour, natural resources and capital. To maintain this kind of growth in the future, it must be inclusive and sustainable. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ is supporting the Vietnamese Government in implementing macroeconomic reforms and using public and private resources more efficiently.