8 August 2014: The Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing (ICESDF) has concluded its work, adopting its draft report and forwarding it to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) for consideration. The report was finalized during the Committee’s fifth and final session, held on 4-8 August 2014, in New York, US.

The Committee used the Monterrey Consensus of the International Conference on Financing for Development as a basis for its analysis, mindful of the work of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (OWG), and guided by the resolve of Member States that the post-2015 development agenda should reinforce the commitment of the international community to sustainable development based on a coherent approach that integrates its economic, social, and environmental dimensions.

The experts found that global public and private savings are sufficient to meet current needs. However, according to their analysis, the expected returns on investments associated with sustainable development are often not as attractive as other opportunities, especially in the near term, and governments have not been able to mobilize adequate public financing to undertake necessary investments that profit-seeking investors eschew.

The report notes that solutions should include better aligning private incentives with public goals, and creating a policy framework that encourages for-profit investment in these areas, while also mobilizing public resources for essential sustainable development activities. The experts also underline the importance of reducing corruption, and stress that policies and incentives should aim to better match investor preference with investment needs, so that, for example, long-term sustainable development needs are not financed with short-term funds.

The analysis concludes that there is no one simple policy solution, but a basket of policy measures will be necessary, encompassing a “tool kit” of policy options, regulations, institutions, programs and instruments, from which governments can choose appropriate policy combinations. The experts recommend a cohesive approach, with national financing strategies as an integral part of national sustainable development strategies, based on the principle of country ownership and supported by a strengthened global partnership for sustainable development.

The analytical section of the report begins with a discussion of financing needs and recent trends in financing flows, followed by a “strategic approach” derived from an analysis of the flow of funds from sources to uses. The bulk of the report (Section VI) considers policy options to strengthen the four basic categories of financial resource mobilization available for financing sustainable development, namely domestic public, domestic private, international public and international private finance, with an additional focus on means for blending official and private resources and collaboration between various actors. In Section VII, the experts address international policy imperatives for a strong international economic environment and its governance, stressing that fractures in the global economic architecture will undermine the global project to deliver sustainable development. The report concludes with a discussion of options for the way forward.

ICESDF held five sessions: on 28-30 August 2013; on 2-6 December 2013; on 3-7 March 2014; on 12-16 May 2014; and on 4-8 August 2014. The Committee conducted regional outreach meetings in Santiago, Chile (Latin America and Caribbean), Helsinki, Finland (Europe), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Africa), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Arab region), and Jakarta, Indonesia (Asia). It also organized informal outreach events and multi-stakeholder dialogues and events with the international financial institutions. [Report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing: Final Draft] [ICESDF Website][Sustainable Development Policy & Practice coverage of ICESDF]