The UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has issued a call for coalitions of countries and other stakeholders to submit voluntary initiatives to boost a “renewed financing framework” to be put in place at the Fourth International Conference for Financing for Development (FfD4). The ‘Sevilla Platform for Action’ aims to mobilize alliances to implement specific actions of the FfD4 outcome document to help address shared challenges in achieving sustainable development.

A Call to Action for Advancing Financing for Development notes that FfD4 is taking place at a time when, with five years remaining until the 2030 deadline, progress on the SDGs is off track, trade barriers are on the rise, aid budgets are being slashed, and multilateralism is in jeopardy.

Lead implementing countries and entities will be invited to submit their initiatives from 1 May to 6 June 2025, through a dedicated form that will be available on the FfD4 website. Eligible initiatives must: be new or represent a significant scaling up of an existing successful effort; be forward-looking and advance progress in at least one financing for development (FfD) action area; and follow the principles of the UN Charter and SMART Criteria (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Resource-based, with Time-based deliverables).

On the opening day of the Conference, a special event will launch the Sevilla Platform for Action. To enhance transparency and accountability, a dedicated digital space on the FfD4 website will host all initiatives. The Sevilla Platform for Action and its initiatives will become part of the follow-up process, with progress tracked through a dedicated mechanism. The Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development will report on implementation of major initiatives. Future editions of the FfD Forum will also look at progress.

FfD4 is scheduled to convene in Seville, Spain, from 30 June to 3 July 2025, ten years after FfD3 adopted the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) – the “financing arm” of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Having concluded in 2015, the parallel negotiating tracks agreed two complementary frameworks to “enable governments to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, and address the most pressing social and environmental challenges, such as economic inequality, climate change, and environmental degradation.” 

Per the Call to Action, a renewed financing framework, under negotiation ahead of the Conference, is expected to deliver an impact-focused SDG investment push, contribute to reform of the international financial architecture, and help rebuild trust in multilateralism. [Call for Sevilla Platform for Action Initiatives] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on First Draft of FfD4 Outcome Document]