31 March 2016: Delegates at a UN regional dialogue on Financing for Development (FfD) agreed on follow-up steps towards implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including plans to nurture capital markets and establish a regional forum on tax cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. At the meeting, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) urged countries to submit innovative project proposals on responding to climate challenges, for possible financing.

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Government of the Republic of Korea co-organized the First High-Level Follow-Up Dialogue on Financing for Development in Asia and the Pacific, in Incheon, Republic of Korea, from 30-31 March 2016. More than 200 senior officials from 41 countries took part in the meeting, which focused on implementing the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) that was adopted in July 2015 as a basis for financing implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Delegates at the meeting agreed on several priorities, including establishment of an Asia-Pacific tax forum that will serve as a platform for dialogue and cooperation on tax matters. They called for creating a regional and cross-regional multilateral infrastructure-financing forum, and for strengthening regional cooperation for macro-economic monitoring to support capital market development. They also recommended establishing a regional center for small island developing States (SIDS) to build capacity for responding to climate change.

Addressing the meeting on the second day, Héla Cheikhrouhou, GCF Executive Director, said the Fund can be “a significant enabler” for achieving the SDGs, as climate finance is potentially relevant to initiatives undertaken under all 17 SDGs. She stressed that the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement on climate change must be implemented hand-in-hand, since lifting millions out of poverty will not be possible on a planet ravaged by climate change. Cheikhrouhou urged all participants to prioritize investments in climate mitigation and adaptation investments in the region, especially in the Pacific SIDS and least developed countries (LDCs). Finally, she reported that the GCF began financing climate projects at the end of 2015, and so far has allocated US$1.3 billion for mitigation and adaptation, with many Asia-Pacific projects in the project pipeline.

The outcome of the Incheon meeting will be presented at ESCAP’s 72nd Commission session, in May 2016, and will feed into a high-level side event at the ECOSOC Forum on FfD on 18 April in New York, US. [ESCAP Press Release] [GCF Press Release] [GCF Statement] [ESCAP 72] [Side Event at FfD Forum]