Promote long-term investment frameworks for the SDGs
Progress towards the SDGs depends on significant long-term public and private investments in critical societal transformations, such as energy and transport infrastructure, water and sanitation, health, education, the environment as well as digital connectivity. These high-priority investments have long-lasting economic and social returns far above the cost of capital. Yet sovereign borrowers in the developing and emerging economies often experience challenging conditions on the financial markets, as they face poor credit ratings, short maturities on debts and disproportionally high borrowing costs. This undermines countries’ ability to finance essential capital needs, and significantly impedes their progress towards sustainable development. Research undertaken by the SDG Transformation Center and the International Monetary Fund reveals the large financing gap faced by many developing nations.
To this end, the SDG Transformation Center works with UN agencies, the OECD, Multilateral and Public Development Banks (MDBs/PBDs) and other key global and local partners to unlock adequate SDG financing at the global, national and subnational level.
More specifically, our work on SDG financing focuses on:
Through our work we emphasize the need for increased access to financing in developing countries at long maturities and low interest rates and for directing financing at high-return activities, including education, health, and infrastructure. We work with countries, banks, cities and the private sector to channel larger funds into long-term sustainable development which requires sound long-term budget and investment frameworks. We develop tools that support stakeholders in assessing countries’ structural multidimensional vulnerability (e.g., the Multidimensional Structural Vulnerability Index), and in making informed decisions on SDG priority setting and an optimal resource allocation (e.g., the SDG Investment Impact Toolkit). We also provide special analyses and technical advisory support to countries that are structurally vulnerable, including Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which face particular SDG financing, implementation and data challenges.
We continuously engage with global, national and local stakeholders, including the private sector, to scale-up and align international and national financial flows to SDG needs and commitments. Some notable examples of the recent engagement include the European Commission, the Government of Benin, the Inter-American Development Bank, GIZ, and the United Nations Resident Coordinator system in the SIDS.
If you would like to learn more about our SDG Financing work and explore areas for collaboration, please contact: Isabella Massa, Senior Manager.
Policy Paper
Ahead of COP28, a new paper by Jeffrey Sachs, Isabella Massa, Simona Marinescu, Samory Toure and Guillaume Lafortune investigates increasing climate costs triggered by human-induced climate change. The authors argue that increased funding for adaptation and loss and damages, particularly for SIDS, must go hand-in-hand with long-term resilience and sustainable development pathways.
Policy Paper
This paper underlines four priorities to scale-up and align global financing flows for the SDGs: (i) Reform of the Global Financial Architecture, notably by expanding funding from Multilateral Development Banks and Public Development Banks; (ii) More and better targeted Official Development Assistance ; (iii) Revised sovereign credit ratings that consider the long-term growth potential of SDG investments and (iv) Long-term investment planning, fiscal frameworks, project implementation, financial operations, and relations with partner institutions in developing countries, in order to be able to channel much larger funds into long-term sustainable development.
Policy Paper
In an attempt to align key indicators with the European Commission’s new vision for Europe’s sustainable prosperity, GDP+3 aims to provide a simple set of four headline indicators (including GDP) to inform policymaking at the highest level. This scoping study defines the key criteria for selecting indicators and proposes three options for GDP+3 indicator sets. It concludes by setting out the opportunities and challenges for communicating GDP+3 and outlining concrete policy recommendations for policymakers to implement a GDP+3 framework in the next 3 years.
Policy Paper
At the mid-point on the way to 2030, SDG financing is under pressure and unevenly distributed across areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet. This article discusses some of the steps needed to close the SDG financing gap and enhance SDG investment effectiveness, including reforms of the global finance system, and more targeted financing solutions.
Policy Paper
In the Global Solutions Journal, SDSN sheds light on how the lack of enough public spending is among the main reasons why the SDG Agenda is far off-track around the world, and especially in highly vulnerable countries. In the latter, financial resources to cover the total financing needed to achieve the SDGs are far beyond what countries can generate from their own domestic resources. Traditional and innovative targeted financing mechanisms considering countries’ specific vulnerabilities should be facilitated.
Policy Paper
Based on an extensive survey of the literature and original analysis of climate data, the paper provides a pilot conceptual and methodological framework for assessing adaptation and loss and damage (L&D) costs. It makes an initial attempt to frame a new dedicated Global Climate Impact Fund that shares - fairly and globally - the burden of financing for human-induced adaptation and L&D costs among responsible countries. The paper contributed to discussions at COP27 in Egypt.
Policy Paper
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face a unique set of structural vulnerabilities that hinder their development progress. To support the UN effort to develop a sound and robust Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI), this Working Paper presents a new pilot framework to measure the degree of structural vulnerability of different countries and country groups, and to assess the relationship between structural vulnerability and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Learn more about SDSN's reports, publications and data visualizations in our library
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