Financing For Development: The Way Forward

Sustainable Development Goals to replace Millennium Development Goals this year

Broader scope, but comes with heftier price tag

Private capital will be required to meet financial demands

“I agree–it’s not easy to remember 169 targets and 17 goals. But the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were very focused on reducing poverty, whereas the SDGs go way beyond that, covering much broader issues related to sustainable growth and prosperity.”

Zhu’s remarks came as part of a panel discussion on how the international community might finance the new goals.

New goals: broader scope, heftier price tag

United Nations Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo, said the new development agenda will cover all member states—rich and poor, for the next 15 years. But Wu admitted the broader scope comes with a heftier price tag, far exceeding the cost of the MDGs.

“In addition to eradicating poverty, this agenda will cover economic, social and environmental issues, so huge amounts of financial resources will be required for its implementation.”

The World Bank’s Chief Financial Officer, Betrand Badré, said the cost of implementing the SDGs would likely be in the trillions, whereas the current Official Development Assistance program runs in the billions of dollars. But Badré also pointed out that there may be an opportunity in the private sector, where there are trillions of dollars looking for yield.

Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute, said whatever financing plan they come up with will have to include the private sector, because “governments in the west are broke.”

But, he added, it’s not so much the money he’s concerned about at this point.

“We need new clear initiatives so the low-income country can achieve the SDG on Health or the SDG on Education, or on Hunger. We don’t even have that right now. We don’t have specific initiatives on the table that are aligned with the sustainable development goals.”

Need for deliverables

Florencio Barsana Abad, Budget and Management Secretary for the Philippine government, said the breadth of the SDGs as described could include “everything under the sun,” and agreed with Sachs that clear initiatives needed to be established well ahead of the Addis Ababa International Conference on Financing for Development taking place in July.

“We do need some deliverables by July. We can’t just go to this meeting and expect everyone’s going to be happy with a few platitudes. We actually have...