Countries around the world are striving to provide citizens with essential needs such as decent jobs, safe housing, clean water, reliable energy, and opportunities for a better life. Development breakthroughs occur when progress in one area triggers improvements in others—for instance, investments in health can boost education outcomes, enhanced waste management strengthens local economies, and expanded social protection builds resilience. These transformative outcomes are possible when governments have access to accurate data, strategic partnerships, and the right tools to make policy decisions that generate multiple development benefits simultaneously. To support this approach, UNDP launched SDG Push, a platform designed to help countries accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by providing data, diagnostics, and insights on where policies can be optimized to achieve development breakthroughs while leaving no one behind.
The SDG Push initiative has already demonstrated tangible impacts in pilot countries. In Indonesia, policymakers identified five priority areas including human capital, infrastructure, and access to basic services, showing how targeted investments can accelerate SDG achievement. Namibia used forward-looking scenarios to explore policy options that promote growth while reducing poverty, inequality, and unemployment. In Peru, consultations revealed that public investment in infrastructure could increase productivity by 39.1% compared to business-as-usual projections while reducing poverty and underemployment. South Africa focused on job creation, addressing structural barriers, and leveraging private-sector skills-matching interventions. Moldova quickly adapted the initiative to address its energy crisis, supporting energy-vulnerability compensation programmes and advancing digital transformation as a core development enabler.
With the increasing frequency of climate shocks such as floods, droughts, and storms threatening development gains, planning for sustainable development must integrate economic, social, and environmental objectives to strengthen resilience. In this context, UNDP is supporting 20 countries through its Integrated NDC x SDG Insights initiative, part of Climate Promise 2025, to translate climate ambitions into engines of development. By mapping Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to SDG targets and national priorities, countries can identify co-benefits and trade-offs, enabling policy, finance, and delivery shifts that accelerate progress and improve lives.
A key development breakthrough is the creation of climate-resilient basic services. Reliable access to water, energy, healthcare, and education is critical for sustainable development, and when these systems are designed to withstand climate impacts, they protect communities from disruption and safeguard years of progress. In Cambodia, UNDP supports local leaders along the Mekong River in planning and responding to floods through resilient infrastructure, training, and participatory planning. These efforts simultaneously advance climate goals, protect access to essential services, and generate social and economic gains by strengthening transport, energy efficiency, and waste management systems.
Another breakthrough is achieving policy coherence between development planning and climate action. By aligning NDCs with broader national development strategies, governments can eliminate duplications, direct resources more efficiently, and maximize co-benefits. In Liberia, the NDC x SDG Insights helped harmonize multiple national plans, including adaptation, biodiversity, and energy initiatives, highlighting renewable energy, forestry, and climate-smart agriculture as areas where small investments could generate significant employment and resilience gains. This alignment enables countries to move from planning to actionable performance, ensuring that climate investments drive sustainable development outcomes.
A third breakthrough focuses on renewable energy as a driver of development. Access to clean and affordable energy is essential for health, education, and economic growth, yet over a billion people still live in energy poverty. By accelerating renewable energy deployment through systems-level changes, countries can promote inclusive green economies, reduce emissions, and lift millions out of extreme poverty. In the Dominican Republic, the NDC x SDG Insights process supports the government in modernizing its energy system, doubling electricity supply, enhancing resilience, and attracting private investment. The initiative integrates climate and development priorities, ensuring renewable energy transitions deliver multiple social, economic, and environmental benefits.
The UNDP experience underscores that the future success of national development depends on moving beyond siloed policies. Policy coherence is fundamental to achieving climate-resilient, sustainable development. Governments are called to institutionalize this integrated approach, ensuring that NDCs and development plans are inseparable. By rigorously aligning policies and investments, countries can guarantee that every action contributes to jobs, growth, resilience, and the full realization of the SDGs for all.
