29 April 2015: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has proposed an 8-point agenda for financing implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region, in a report titled ‘Making Money Work: Financing a Sustainable Future in Asia and the Pacific.’

The report estimates that development funding needs in the region amount to around US$1 trillion a year. The authors highlight that “while fiscal sources remain the most important basis of development finance across the region, the largest sums are in private hands.” However, they note that many activities essential to sustainable development are not profitable enough to attract private funding, and there are insufficient incentives for directing funds toward people or areas of need, including public goods enjoyed by more than one country or group of people.

The report’s eight-point agenda clusters actions that could be taken to promote financing for development by various actors: supranational forums; national governments; municipalities; business people; leaders in the banking and financial sector; influencers, such as media and civil society; donors; and multilateral development banks. Among the measures proposed are: tapping savings, pension and sovereign wealth funds to support infrastructure and public service needs; improving tax collection; creating municipal bond markets; and imposing carbon and financial transaction taxes.

The report is made up of an overview and three appendices containing background information, including an appendix on the ADB’s strategic and operational alignment with the post-2015 development agenda. The appendices are available in the hard copy version of the publication.

The ADB’s press release notes that the report is being released ahead of the three 2015 global meetings that will set forth financing for development goals, SDGs, and a new climate change agenda. [ADB Press Release] [Report Web Page] [Publication: Making Money Work: Financing a Sustainable Future in Asia and the Pacific]