Work Package 2: Interlinkages between Indicators

Description

In the context of the SDGs there are intense discussions on interactions between the 17 headline goals as well as on interactions between different targets (see e.g. Nilsson et al. 2016a,b). The SDGs implicitly depend on each other, but the interlinkages between the different goals and indicators have not yet been examined in detail. When overlaps between targets are ignored, however, there is a risk of perverse outcomes. This does not only hold true for the broad scope of the SGDs, but also for the energy and climate policy indicators that will be developed in the proposed project. For instance, policies aiming at reducing energy expenditures of poor households (and therefore contributing to improvements in the social dimension) might increase energy demand and in turn emissions (with negative effects on the environmental dimension) if not properly designed.

In ClEP therefore special emphasis will be put on interactions between different indicators. Following Nilsson et al. (2016b) we will define an assessment framework for interdependencies between the different indicators that will take the following aspects into account: reversibility of interaction, reciprocity of interaction (i.e. whether the impact goes in both directions or not), strength of interaction and probability of interaction (i.e. whether the interaction is certain or only possible). The analysis along these criteria will show whether different indicators or targets are reinforcing or counteracting or do not show any significant positive or negative interactions. The specification of interactions between the different indicators will be discussed in an expert workshop.