26 February 2014: The UN Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing (ICESDF) held a briefing and open consultation, organized by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in Santiago, Chile.

The meeting on 14-15 January 2014, brought ICESDF members together with academics, civil society, and government representatives from the region to discuss the objectives of the Committee and receive inputs to its work.

According to the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS), the meeting updated participants on the Committee’s work so far. ICESDF Co-Chair Pertti Majanen (Finland) presented on three issues critical to the group’s work: universality and mainstreaming sustainable development on the global financial agenda; climate finance; and private finance and partnerships. Co-Chair Mansur Muhtar (Nigeria) called on participants to offer creative thinking on the issues, and to stay “open-minded in the quest for pragmatic ways forward.”

Together, the experts, governments, academics and civil society representatives identified seven key themes emerging from the discussion: financial architecture and global economic governance reform; regional financial institutions; reorienting development models in the region; private finance, including public-private partnerships (PPPs) and regulatory measures; other forms of resource mobilization, including national and international tax issues; climate finance; and mobilizing political will.

Participants emphasized the need to reform the global financial and governance architecture and to deal with systemic issues, in order to implement a sustainable development financing strategy. Changes also were called for in the regional development model, consumption and production patterns, and harmful subsidies. Calls were made to agree on a collective definition of ‘climate finance,’ while respecting the Rio principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR).

The Co-Chairs pledged to pay attention to LAC and its regional dimension throughout the rest of its work.

The ICESDF will hold its third session on 3-7 March 2014, in New York, US. [NGLS Meeting Summary] [ICESDF Webpage]