Financing the SDGs Special Focus: 2023

Deficiencies and inequalities in the global financial system have come into stark focus over the last couple of years. In the words of António Guterres earlier this year: “we have presently a situation in the developing world in which countries are strangled by debt and countries have no access to the financial resources they need in order to be able, not only to address the dramatic challenges they face, but also to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Photo of traditional fishery in the Seychelles by The Ocean Agency / Ocean Image

  1. Scaling up financing for sustainable development

    Uneven access to affordable financing for development, starkly exposed by the pandemic, has become even more entrenched as events over the past year have exacerbated divides between developed and developing countries. Without urgent action, such financing divides risk becoming sustainable development divides

    Lachezara Stoeva
  1. SDG-aligned investment: a new development paradigm

    Investment in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is often presented as discretionary, expendable when funds are tight. We must change public and political perceptions to recognize the full scope of the returns that SDG-aligned investments can yield

    Marcos Athias Neto
  2. Unlocking the potential of blended finance

    With the right conditions, blended finance – combining public and private financing to incentivize increased investment from new sources – could bridge the funding gaps necessary to achieve the SDGs. How can we realize this huge investment potential before it’s too late?

    Avril Benchimol Dominguez, Teayeon Kim, David E. Rodgers
  3. Mobilizing business investment for the SDGs

    With just seven years to go, the SDGs remain severely underfunded, as cash-strapped governments worldwide struggle to resource them. Generating more private-sector investment that seizes the huge business potential of the Goals is therefore critical

    Sanda Ojiambo
  4. Learning from climate finance

    Progress on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been significant but uneven. If we want to accelerate delivery, we need to apply the lessons learned from climate finance

    Rory Sullivan, Robert Black
  5. Financial education for a sustainable future

    Just one-third of adults worldwide are classified as financially literate. Improving our knowledge and understanding of finance and money is a core mission of the Liechtenstein Bankers Association, and critical to creating a more sustainable, equitable world that leaves no one behind

    Simon Tribelhorn

    SDGs: 4 17

  6. Trade’s role in climate action

    International trade can play a vital role in tackling climate change and achieving sustainable development. But it calls on governments to set aside national interests and open up access to environmental goods, services, and technologies for all countries

    Lucie Qian Xia