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Expert Voices
Urgent action needed to secure financing for our shared future
That the global community is seriously off track to achieve the global goals is nothing new. Neither is the fact that part of the reason lies in a lack of financing investments at the required scale. But what are the solutions? And what can we expect from the financing for development events happening at the UN this month? To find out, we spoke with UN DESA’s Mariangela Parra-Lancourt.
This month, many events will be focusing on efforts to finance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Can you tell us what the status is when it comes to funding the SDGs?
“As we learned at last year’s SDG Summit, the world is severely off track on the SDGs. Based on current trajectories, we would be unlikely to achieve our global goals by mid-century, let alone 6 years from today. This is in good part because we have not invested in economic and societal transformation at nearly the required scale. Unfortunately, in the last few years, we have even moved backwards. Financing divides and gaps in the international financial architecture have severely constrained developing countries’ ability to withstand the global shocks we experienced since 2020. As a result, financing gaps have been growing rather than being closed. Today, financing gaps are estimated at $4 trillion annually for developing countries.”
What is the role of the SDG Stimulus in helping to boost efforts and how are international actors responding to this plan?
“The SDG Stimulus is an ambitious plan to rapidly and significantly scale up long-term affordable financing for development. It calls for an additional $500 billion annually to help close SDG financing gaps. World leaders welcomed the plan at last year’s SDG Summit, and there has been some real progress. The proposal is already reflected in countries’ priorities and commitments. Collectively, the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have already taken steps that will provide an additional $300-400 billion in financing over the next decade. But much more remains to be done.“
This year’s Financing for Sustainable Development Report (FSDR) will be launched on 11 April. What can we expect from this edition; any new recommendations or solutions that can accelerate SDG progress?
“This year’s report looks back all the way to 2002, when Member States first convened to discuss financing for development at the UN, adopting the historic Monterrey Consensus. We have come a long way since then, with significant progress across financing policy areas. But of course, it is not enough. Today, enabling environments – both national and international – for financing transformations are clearly not in place.
The 2024 FSDR lays out a roadmap for all stakeholders to work toward enabling such change. It identifies a package of reforms to scale up of public and private investment in the SDGs and make the international financial architecture fit for purpose for today’s world – and deliver it at the fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), which will take place in Spain at the end of June 2025. The launch on 11 April will be broadcast live via UN Web TV and readers will be able to access the report on UN DESA’s website.”
What can we anticipate from this year’s ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum and the SDG Investment Fair? How can these events move the needle towards a better future for all?
“The 2024 ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum from 22-25 April is a key first step towards the fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in 2025. It will offer UN Member States, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders the opportunity to share perspectives on how the international community can help update the existing set of international financial and monetary frameworks and rules, institutions and markets. These things need to reflect changes in the global economy and deliver enough financial resources for the countries that need them the most. Dynamic discussions will touch on all of the changes that need to happen to mobilize the financing necessary to achieve the SDGs and create a global financial system that benefits all countries.
On the margins of the Forum, the 9th edition of the SDG Investment Fair, which will take place on 23-25 April, will connect multiple countries and private investors to discuss concrete projects that significantly contribute to the delivery of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It will feature substantive discussions on accelerating SDG investment, sovereign SDG bonds, investment in LLDCs and SIDS, as well as country investment presentations in sectors that support the energy, food systems, climate, and digitalization transition agenda.”
For more information:
Financing for Sustainable Development Reports