Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13) – to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impact is one of gravest existential threats facing our collective, sustainable future survival on this planet.

Environmentally Sound Technologies are defined as technologies that protect the environment, are less polluting, use all resources in a
more sustainable manner, recycle more of their wastes and products and handle residual wastes in a more acceptable way than the
technologies for which they are substitutes. They can also be referred to as “clean” technologies.
Increasing the uptake of environmentally sound technologies can result in several benefits for the environment, including reduced air
pollution. Access to cost-effective technologies through trade can help to both stimulate the green economy and to achieve global sustainable development objectives.

In line with the partnership between UN Environment and the IPU, this issue brief aims to provide parliamentarians with a basic understanding of the green economy and of the policies required to transition toward it.

This Briefing Note introduces how resilience thinking, which considers interactions within a coupled socialecological system, can help to navigate the adaptation challenge and explores the use of ecosystems as part of the solution to the overall challenge. It also discusses a number of challenges inherent to EbA itself and how to move forward in addressing them.