Elizabeth Morgan | A launchpad for action?

LEADING INTO the CARICOM Heads of Government Conference in Montego Bay and the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, a United Nations (UN) conference, held in Sevilla, Spain, June 30-July 3. In the midst of all the global uncertainties and the threats to the multilateral system of governance, for the majority of the UN’s 193 members, sustainable development remains a critical issue along with financing for development. Development financing, including climate finance, is a priority issue for CARICOM members which are Small Island Developing States. This is reflected in the 49th CARICOM Heads Communiqué.

Financing for development goes back to 1997 and the effort to align financing flows and policies with economic, social, and environmental priorities to raise living standards in developing countries. It was proposed that an international conference on financing for development should be convened. The first conference was held in 2002 in Monterrey, Mexico, resulting in the Monterrey Consensus to address the challenges of financing for development aimed at eradicating poverty, achieving sustained economic growth, and promoting sustainable development. The second conference was held in Doha, Qatar, in 2008, adopting the Doha Declaration. The third was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2015, adopting the Addis Ababa Agenda which dealt with the financing of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) with its 2030 implementation target. The implementation of the 17 goals, including the impact of climate change, required financing from overseas development assistance (ODA) and earnings from international trade.

It was assessed that implementation of the UNSDGs required trillions of dollars per annum particularly to meet the needs of developing countries. Developing countries needed $4.3 trillion annually to achieve the SDGs, including $1.8 trillion for climate action. Developed countries were expected to contribute to this financing.

Meeting the financial needs has been difficult and there is a significant financing gap. Countries make commitments to development finance, but the money does not materialise. The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, has made some impassioned speeches on this subject. She has also put forward the Bridgetown Initiative proposing reform of the global financial infrastructure. Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, has also pledged to continue to be a strong advocate for climate finance as chair of CARICOM.

EXIT THE USA

Since the administration of Donald Trump took office in January, they have reduced ODA eliminating the US Agency for International Development; withdrawn from the UNSDGs and from the Paris Climate Accords; and made it clear that it was very lukewarm to the multilateral system, including in international trade.

In international trade policy, the administration has turned to protectionism, imposing arbitrary, unilateral high tariffs on all counties, bringing chaos to trade. In trade policy, countries are existing in a theatre of the absurd.

During the preparatory process for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, the US announced that it was withdrawing and would not attend the conference. Recall that given the size of its economy, its GDP, the USA is the largest contributor to the UN system.

Note that other developed countries are also reducing ODA and increasing spending on security.

SEVILLA COMMITMENT

The Sevilla conference reviewed the state of development financing. ODA to vulnerable developing countries is expected to be reduced by 50 per cent by the end of 2025 and the financing gap to achieve UNSDGs is at a high of US$1 trillion.

The conference adopted the Sevilla Commitment and Platform for Action. It is reported that it took concrete steps to boost investment in sustainable development, address the debt crisis afflicting many of the world’s poorest countries, and give developing countries a stronger voice in the international financing architecture.

The UN’s Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed, is reported in closing remarks, as saying that during the conference, the human consequences of rising debt burdens, escalating trade tensions, and steep cuts to ODA were brought into sharp relief. Yet, against this sobering backdrop, the conference delivered a strong response. She said that a unifying outcome document focused on solutions that reaffirm the Addis Ababa commitments made a decade ago, renew hope through the SDGs, and show that multilateral cooperation still matters and works. Let this conference, she said, be remembered as one where the world chose cooperation over fragmentation, unity over division, and action over inertia.

At this point, one is becoming very disillusioned with the response of the other 192 UN members in the current situation of global uncertainties. Is Amina Mohammed being diplomatic? Is Spain’s Economy Minister, Carlos Cuerpo, as host, engaging in wishful thinking that the Sevilla Commitment will be a launchpad for action? He further said that together, we have sent a strong message of commitment and trust in multilateralism that can yield tangible results to put sustainable development back on track.

Can we believe them? Could there be real cooperation among the 192? We wait to see.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com