Climate change continues to be a focus of the international community, and action needs to be taken immediately to ensure a sustainable future for us all. Under this goal, targets promote adaptation against impacts of climate change, strengthening planning to integrate climate risks at various levels, increasing awareness of stakeholders on climate risks and impacts, and building global cooperation to support climate action and build capacity of countries to address climate issues.
MSMEs have the potential to make vulnerable populations and households climate resilient. Given that MSMEs create employment and entrepreneurship for a large proportion of the population in developing countries, MSMEs can enhance capacities of households through stable and diversified incomes to help withstand impacts of climate-induced shocks and stressors such as pandemics. For MSMEs themselves, however, their lack of access to capital and the concentration of their activity to limited geographic areas can make them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In this regard, actions to mitigate climate impacts can have beneficial effects for the stability and wellbeing of MSMEs, and their ongoing support of local employment and service provision.
Policy measures to support Goal 13:
- Provide knowledge products to MSMEs to better understand climate risk and build resilience into a company’s assets and supply chain.
- Enhance the ability of MSMEs to use more sustainable forms of travel and product delivery, through integrating them with modern supply chains and logistics networks, an leveraging technology to streamline dispatch.
- Promote responsible procurement practices and the adoption of energy efficient LED lighting.
