Sectoral investments to achieve water, energy and land Sustainable Development Goals and enhance climate resilience

Abstract Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the intricate relationships among water, energy, food, and land resources, particularly in the context of a growing global population and climate change. This paper explores the interplay between climate impacts and investment requirements for achieving sectoral-related SDG targets, employing the MESAGEix-GLOBIOM-Nexus model to analyze cost-optimal investment portfolios. By integrating biophysical sectoral climate impacts, including changes in water availability, crop yields, and energy demand for cooling services, the study assesses the economic implications on the SDG investment portfolios that enhance climate resilience. Our findings underline the cross-sectoral economic benefits of achieving nutrition and food waste policies, revealing significant reductions in water withdrawal-related expenditures, particularly in South Asia. Climate impacts introduce uncertainties on the expected SDG investments and Operation and Maintenance (O&M) costs, leading to potential expenditure increases, especially in water-scarce regions. The study also highlights the importance of considering long-term costs and uncertainties to maintain SDG targets’ standards throughout the century, with investment requirements in Asia that could vary from 10 to 30 percentage points, emphasizing the need for climate resilience-building measures in water infrastructure to address extreme climate events. This research contributes to understanding the complex interactions between climate impacts, socio-economic development and SDG achievement, offering insights for policymakers and stakeholders to navigate investment in pursuit of climate-resilient sustainable development. At the same time, it provides agenda inputs for research and modelling of integrated climate impacts.