There are so many conflicts, humanitarian disasters, extreme weather and economic upheaval going on in the world that a new word is being used to describe the current situation: “polycrisis”.
The word appeared in 2022, a year that began with preliminary hopes that the global economy would begin to recover from a major disruption of the global economic system. COVID-19 pandemic, but was soon dominated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Amid all these competing crises, many countries simply do not have the resources to invest in recovery, climate action and sustainable development.
This is the challenging environment that 2023 Funding Forum for Development (FFD) is taking place at United Nations Headquarters, from 17 to 20 April, to promote progressive policies to address global development problems ranging from debt, underdevelopment and wage insecurity. real.
Here are five things to know about this year’s FfD Forum.
1) Why is this year’s Forum important?
Local community members in Quelimane, Mozambique, restore mangroves to prevent flooding.
2023 is shaping up to be a pivotal time for sustainable development. This year marks the midpoint of 2015, the year that saw the launch of Agenda for Sustainable Developmentand 2030 is the deadline for completing Agenda 17 Sustainable development goals (SDGs).
The UN is planning to give new impetus to the achievement of the Goals at the major SDG Summit in September. However, no progress will be made without substantial funding.
In February, the UN Secretary General António Guterres acknowledge that the SDGs are going astray and offer a SDG . Stimulation Plan, calling on richer countries to spend an additional $500 billion a year to fund the SDGs. “Investing in the SDGs is both reasonable and feasible,” he said. “It’s a win-win for the world, as the social and economic return to sustainable development in developing countries is very high.”
The stimulus plan also calls for a transformation of the international financial system, to ease the debt burden of developing countries and make capital easier to access. Making this transformation a reality will be on the agenda of this year’s FfD Forum.
Women sort coffee beans in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
2) What are the main problems?
According to the Finance Report for Sustainable Development 2023, the number of people facing severe food insecurity has doubled from pre-pandemic levels (from 135 million in 2019 to 345 million projected). expected in 2023). The war in Ukraine has caused food prices to soar, increasing by 50% in 2022 compared to 2019.
The industrialization of the least developed countries and many African countries has not progressed as expected: Agenda 2030 calls for doubling the value added from manufacturing in African countries by the end of the decade. That means producing and selling more products than selling raw materials to other countries.
Notably, value added has actually fallen from about 10% of GDP in 2000 to 9% in 2021.
Debt repayment is also making it difficult for poorer nations: by 2022, 25 developing countries must spend more than one-fifth of their total revenue on paying off foreign public debt.
And gender inequality remains a major drag on development: in 115 countries, women cannot run businesses the same way as men.
Dock workers unload cargo from a ship in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
3) What potential solutions will be discussed?
The Forum’s agenda will be based primarily on the results of the 2023 report Finance for sustainability reportingreleased on April 5, calling for a stronger tax system, more public and private investment in sustainable development, and Reform of the international financial system to mobilize more resources.
The report also argued that Huge investments are needed to accelerate conversions in areas such as power supply, industry, agriculture, transportation and buildings, to bring about a “new green industrial era”.
Industrialization is often associated with pollution and waste, but historically it has been the engine of progress. The “industrialization” proposed in the Report involves supporting low-carbon industries, including renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, the digital economy and developing political policies that lead to investments in sustainable practices, while reducing the negative environmental impact of industries.
There are positive signs that the message is beginning to be conveyed: global spending on the energy transition has risen to a record high of $1.1 trillion in 2022, surpassing for the first time ever. through investments in fossil fuel systems and a green economy that has become the industrial sector’s fifth largest economy by market value, $7.2 trillion by 2021.
A boy carries water in a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
4) What are the risks of inaction?
The gap between rich and poor is widening, and without a comprehensive overhaul of the global economy, it is predicted that 574 million people – almost 7% of the world’s population – will still live in extreme poverty by the end of the year. 2030. In this scenario, the need for external funding for LDCs and other low-income countries is expected to increase from $172 billion to $220 billion over the next four years.
Among the recommendations is a warning; if the proposed reforms are partial, incomplete or do not take into account the SDGs, then sustainable development will not be achieved, leaving the 2030 Agenda and the climate goals out of reach.
A technician works on a wind turbine blade in eastern Quebec, Canada.
5) What happens next?
No one is under the illusion that the task ahead is huge, and experts agree that long-term sustainable development will be difficult to achieve amid continuing humanitarian crises.
Ultimately, UN economists want the FfD process to lead to a profound reform of global institutions to better address the immediate needs of developing countries.
