Climate change is one of the most pressing problems of our time. This is due to the massive impact that the global rise in temperature is bringing. On average, the global temperature is currently 1 degree Celsius higher than it was in the 1800s – before industrialization began, and the last four years have been the warmest on record. This is melting the ice on polar ice caps and glaciers around the world, causing sea levels to rise and flooding to occur. The rise in temperature is caused by greenhouse gases such as CO2. CO2 levels have increased by 146 percent compared to pre-industrial times.

Climate change also causes landslides, hurricanes, periods of drought and heat, heavy rain and storm surges. Crops and houses are destroyed, people lose their food base and their homes. 21.5 million people have to leave their homes and flee every year because of the effects of climate change. Most of those affected are people in the global South, where climate change is having a far more massive impact than in Germany, for example.

The focus in achieving SDG 13 is on strengthening and supporting least developed countries and small island developing states that are massively and first affected by the impacts of climate change. In doing so, industrialized countries are to fulfill commitments agreed to by the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This means that $100 billion per year must be raised collectively to provide a climate fund with the necessary financial resources as quickly as possible. This fund is intended to finance meaningful climate protection measures adapted to the needs of developing countries.
It will also support climate change planning and management capacity in developing countries and small island developing states. These should include a targeted focus on non-cis males, young people, and local and marginalized communities.