We won’t achieve sustainable development unless countries, institutions and peoples work together

By Li Junhua, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, and Secretary-General of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development

Political leaders will gather at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Sevilla, Spain, on 30 June – 3 July, to put in place a renewed global financing framework for sustainable development.

Why everybody should care about the state of the ocean

By Ambassador Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean 

Making development cooperation work for today’s world

By Cristina Duarte, Under-Secretary General and Special Adviser on Africa

When we talk about development cooperation in today’s world, we must ask ourselves: how is it that some countries spend billions of dollars on sending missions to Mars, yet 750 million people still lack energy access, and 600 million remain trapped in extreme poverty? 

Our best, and perhaps last, chance to secure financing for a sustainable future

By José Antonio Ocampo, Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, and Chair of the Independent Group of Experts for the fourth UN Conference on Financing for Development 

UN soft power and the SDGs: Promoting peace and security in conflict-prone societies

By Ibrahim Elbadawi, Managing Director, Economic Research Forum (ERF), Member of the UN High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs (HLAB)

The UN, established after World War II to maintain international peace and security, is perhaps more known for its “hard power” through the instruments of the UN Security Council (UNSC). That is coercive power, measured either through economic or military strength.  

Blended finance is not working; It is time for a new approach for mobilizing private finance for the SDGs at FfD4

By Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value, University College London (UCL); Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose; Member of the UN High-Level Advisory Board for Economic and Social Affairs

Rio's future generations are here: It's not game over for climate action; it's game on

By Hailey Campbell, Co-Executive Director, Care About Climate 

For every single person alive today, we will leave behind a shared legacy to future generations. Will that future be defined by fear of the catastrophic climate impacts or the rights to a clean, safe, sustainable environment? 

Renewing the Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data

By Stefan Schweinfest, Director, UN DESA’s Statistics Division

The world cannot afford the cost of gender inequality

By UN Women Deputy Executive Director Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda

It’s time we embrace politics to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

By Minh-Thu Pham, Co-founder and CEO, Project Starling