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UN DESA Policy Brief No. 125: Improving compatibility of approaches to identify, verify and align investments to sustainability goals
Regulators and other market participants have introduced a variety of mandatory and voluntary approaches to help investors align investments with sustainability goals.
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 124: Integrated National Financing Frameworks – moving towards financing policy integration
INFFs have an important role to play both in the immediate response to the current crisis and in rebuilding better. Integrated financing strategies can serve as a starting point for locally driven reform processes, providing a foundation for action.
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 123: Sandboxing and experimenting digital technologies for sustainable development
Institutions and regulators could consider investing in requisite resources and building capacities in deploying sandboxes and experiments, with the medium- and long-term aims to advance agile, responsive and resilient approaches in adopting new technologies and in preparing for the future of digital government and sustainable development.
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 122: Adapting international development cooperation to reduce risk, enable recovery and build resilience
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed new demands on development cooperation in its various forms: finance, capacity support, policy change and multi-stakeholder partnerships. The ongoing challenge of the pandemic and its consequences has also shown the durability and adaptability of development cooperation.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #116: A view of changes in institutional arrangements for SDG implementation at the national level since 2015
There is a trend of broadening and deepening institutionalization of the 2030 Agenda. Yet institutionalization at the country level remains a work in progress – with many countries still putting in place or adjusting parts of their institutional systems for SDG implementation.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #115: Horizontal and vertical integration are more necessary than ever for COVID-19 recovery and SDG implementation
Integrated policy-making has been critical in responding effectively to the pandemic, and will be paramount in post-COVID recovery to realize the Sustainable Development Goals.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #103: Transformational partnerships and partnership platforms
Multi-stakeholder collaboration has proven to be critical to tackle the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and will be essential in the recovery efforts to ‘build back better’ towards more sustainable, resilient and inclusive societies.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #100: Effective blended finance in the era of COVID-19 recovery
While blended finance can be an option to support post COVID-19 recovery efforts, a new approach to blended finance is necessary to improve its impact.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #99: Why does corporate sustainability reporting matter to rebuilding better?
Business and financials models must be rethought to accelerate and strengthen business’ contributions to sustainable development
UN/DESA Policy Brief #98: Risk-informed finance
All financing must be risk-informed and resilient, and sufficient financing must be available for investments in risk reduction and resilience, at national and global levels.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #97: COVID-19 and Beyond: Scaling up Private Investment for Sustainable Development
Further action is needed to better channel investment to countries and SDG-related sectors that are most in need. The development of innovative and scalable global platforms, instruments and funds would be an important first step in this regard.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #92: Leveraging digital technologies for social inclusion
COVID-19 is accelerating the pace of digital transformation. In so doing, it is opening the opportunities for advancing social progress and fostering social inclusion, while simultaneously exacerbating the risk of increased inequalities and exclusion of those who are not digitally connected.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #89: Strengthening Data Governance for Effective Use of Open Data and Big Data Analytics for Combating COVID-19
Governments are using big data analytics to get prepared, react effectively, and develop both short term and long-term strategies. Yet, increasing public concerns about data privacy and security put in jeopardy public trust in data collection, use and dissemination by government, business and relevant non-government institutions.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #87: Integrated national financing frameworks—a framework to build back better
Financing has emerged as a key challenge in SDG implementation. Yet, a recent study found that 79 out of 107 national sustainable development plans are not costed. Integrated national financing frameworks (INFFs) can help countries to close this gap.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #78: Achieving the SDGs through the COVID-19 response and recovery
The impact of COVID-19 on SDG achievement will only be known with certainty in the months to come, but assessments for 2020 are bleak. If responses are ad hoc, underfunded and without a view to long-term goals, decades of progress stand to be reversed. However, as countries begin to move towards recovery, coherent and comprehensive actions can place the world on a robust trajectory towards achieving sustainable development.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #77: How can investors move from greenwashing to SDG-enabling?
Companies must adapt their business model to reflect growing risks and uncertainties, and help build a sustainable world; doing so is necessary to preserve their financial performance in the long run
UN/DESA Policy Brief #76: COVID-19 poses grievous economic challenge to landlocked developing countries
The Covid-19 pandemic is increasing the risks of a balance of payments crisis, a food crisis and a debt crisis in landlocked developing countries
UN/DESA Policy Brief #73: The impact of COVID-19 on sport, physical activity and well-being and its effects on social development
This policy brief highlights the challenges COVID-19 has posed to both the sporting world and to physical activity and well-being, including for marginalized or vulnerable groups. It further provides recommendations for Governments and other stakeholders, as well as for the UN system, to support the safe reopening of sporting events, as well as to support physical activity during the pandemic and beyond.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #72: COVID-19 and sovereign debt
Without aggressive policy action, the COVID-19 pandemic could turn into a protracted debt crisis for many developing countries. High debt servicing hamstrings developing countries’ immediate response to COVID-19 and rule out needed investment in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A debt crisis would dramatically set back sustainable development.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #66: COVID-19 and the least developed countries
Covid-19 threatens to have devastating consequences in least developed countries (LDCs). Unless bold policy actions are taken by the international community, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline will likely slip out of reach.