Caterina Sullivan
#Goal13: #ClimateAction
Updated: Nov 3, 2018

We are frequently asked why Goal 13 is called “Climate Action” – not “Climate Change”.
The importance behind the name of Goal 13 lies in the fact that climate action is our ultimate goal. It is what we want to achieve. The key word is action.
Climate change requires immediate action. The Global Goals have clearly set out what action needs to occur in order to ensure a sustainable future.
The first step is to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters. This touches on part of #Goal1: #NoPoverty. In Australia, we are incredibly lucky that we do not have fault lines running through our established cities and towns. However, we still experience many bushfires around the country as well as cyclones in the north of the country. It is important to ensure we build our cities, as outlined in #Goal11: #SustainableCities and #SustainableCommunities, to be resilient against these climate-related disasters. It is also important to adopt climate change related policies at a federal level.

Target 13.3 touches briefly on #Goal4: #QualityEducation by ensuring we include climate change awareness in all aspects of education. The more people are aware of the threat and dangers of climate change, the more people will be inspired to take action by taking positive steps towards one of the other goals such as: Goal 2, Goal 6, Goal 7, Goal 11, Goal 12, Goal 14 or Goal 15.
The list of targets for Goal 13 is very short; however, the Global Goals make explicit reference to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The overall goal is to mobilise $100 billion annually by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful climate change mitigation actions. It is also imperative to promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change mitigation in developing countries.
If you are passionate about seeing immediate action taken on climate change in Australia and in our neighbouring countries, check out “Goal 13: Climate Action” and head over to our “What Can I Do?” page to see how you can become involved in achieving the Global Goals!
This article was originally published on the Global Goals Australia Campaign website.