Leaders “affirmed their collective determination” to increase cooperation to build a more responsive and resilient financial system that is fit for the challenges of today, agreeing that “2023 could be transformed into a year of opportunity”.
They converged on a shared ambition to: win the battle against poverty and vulnerabilities; stand united in increasing international solidarity; protect the planet and global public goods; and mobilize additional financial resources, especially from the private sector.
Building a more responsive and inclusive international financial system to fight inequalities, finance the climate transition, and achieve the SDGs was the goal of the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, convened by France. The Summit resulted in a roadmap to use key milestones on the international agenda to take stock of announcements and commitments made at the Summit and to identify areas where further progress is needed.
President Emmanuel Macron hosted the two-day Summit, which brought together public and private actors to discuss the common challenges relating to our planet and sustainable development, and to “rethink” the global financial architecture to better respond to them.
According to the Chair’s summary of discussions, leaders “affirmed their collective determination” to increase cooperation to build a more responsive and resilient financial system that is fit for the challenges of today, agreeing that “2023 could be transformed into a year of opportunity.” They converged on a shared ambition to: win the battle against poverty and vulnerabilities; stand united in increasing international solidarity; protect the planet and global public goods; and mobilize additional financial resources, especially from the private sector.
On poverty and vulnerabilities, participants acknowledged the need to: address multi-dimensional vulnerability; approach education financing as an investment, and not a cost; and alleviate the debt burden through restructuring or reorienting financing from debt repayment towards investments in resilience, crisis response, and the protection of global public goods. They agreed that financial decisions should take into account climate change impacts and threats to biodiversity and that a common definition of the multidimensional effects of vulnerability could help determine countries’ eligibility for concessional resources.
There will be no serious solution to this crisis without serious reforms.
— UN Secretary-General António Guterres
Leaders affirmed the need to explore “every approach to mobilize and increase sources of low-cost finance,” noting that now more than ever, “international solidarity and transfers from the richest countries to the most vulnerable ones are essential.” The Summit launched the Paris Dialogue on Financing for Sustainable Development, to support ongoing multilateral discussions on financing sustainable development, including in the UN, the Group of 20 (G20), the Group of 7 (G7), Finance in Common Summits, and “the COP series.”
Recognizing private philanthropies’ contributions to sustainable development totaling USD 42 billion from 2016-2019, the Chair’s summary draws attention to private philanthropies’ communiqué, where they express a renewed ambition to further strengthen synergies with public finance to leverage investments around SDG priorities.
On protecting the planet, leaders acknowledged that the “transition towards a net-zero and biodiversity-positive world requires systemic transformations of key sectors of the economy.” They recognized the role of carbon pricing in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, generating revenues for the climate transition, and preserving carbon sinks, with 31 countries subscribing to a Call to Action for Paris-aligned Carbon Markets, launched at the Summit.
On additional finance, participants emphasized the critical role of multilateral development banks (MDBs) in supporting efforts to finance SDG-aligned projects to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. They also underscored that the climate and energy transition aligned with the 1.5°C objective “requires that private finance flows the right way.”
Addressing the Summit, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said many African countries “spend more on debt repayments than on healthcare,” calling the global financial architecture “outdated, dysfunctional, and unjust.” He called for deep reforms and urgent action to meet the needs of developing and emerging economies, as outlined in his recent Our Common Agenda (OCA) Policy Brief and reiterated his proposal of an SDG Stimulus of USD 500 billion per year for investments in sustainable development and climate action.
As a follow-up to the Summit, the Summit’s Chair proposed a roadmap to build on key international meetings to take stock of commitments and key policy actions presented at the Summit. These include the G20 Summit and the SDG Summit in September 2023, the 2023 annual meetings and 2024 spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), the 2024 UN Forum on Financing for Development (FfD), and the Summit of the Future in September 2024.
The Summit on a New Global Financing Pact convened in Paris, France, from 22-23 June 2023, with the support of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and other partners.
On the sidelines of the Summit, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) launched its annual Sustainable Development Report – one of key SDG assessments released each year in the lead-up to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). [Summit on a New Global Financing Pact] [UN News Story]