The Summit of the Future due 22-23 September 2024 is a high-level event, bringing world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future. Given the current global challenges, multilateral cooperation remains vital, but this depends on trust amongst the UN member states as well as the global citizens. Indeed the UN has described this Summit as ‘an opportunity to put ourselves on a better path’.
The scope of the Summit of the Future will encompass elements that will be reflected in the outcome document, entitled A Pact for the Future. These elements are Sustainable development and financing for development; International peace and security; Science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation; Youth and future generations; and Transforming global governance.
With regards to sustainable development and financing for development, the Summit of the Future must be an accelerator for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in full and on time through urgent and scaled-up action, policies and investments, including through the SDG Stimulus endorsed by governments at the SDG Summit last year.
According to the UN Secretary General, It aims to provide at least $500 billion US dollars annually in affordable long-term finance for developing countries. It calls for urgent action on debt, including breathing space for countries facing impossible repayment schedules. Its offset addresses the challenging market conditions faced by developing countries and accelerate progress towards the SDGs, including through investments in renewable energy,
universal social protection, decent job creation and the digital transformation. The UN Trade and Development (2023) estimates that nearly 57% of the African population, or about 751 million people, live in countries that spend more on interest payments than in the social sectors like climate action that need increasing (global) solid responsiveness.
Furthermore, as the African Development Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina noted at a high-level roundtable on climate finance convened during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings in April this year, “Africa is in the eye of the storm from climate change, accounting for 9 out of the 10 most vulnerable countries to climate change globally”. He added: “But Africa is not getting what it needs to adapt to climate change. Africa received just $30 billion per year for climate adaptation, while its needs are $277 billion per year, leaving a huge financing gap.”
Also UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report that was released ahead of the UN Climate talks in Dubai last year finds that the adaptation finance needs of developing countries are 10-18 times as big as international public finance flows – over 50 per cent higher than the previous range estimate. According to this Report, as a result of the growing adaptation finance needs and faltering flows, the current adaptation finance gap is now estimated to be US$194-366 billion per year. At the same time, adaptation planning and implementation appear to be plateauing. This failure to adapt has massive implications for losses and damages, particularly for the most vulnerable.
So as the world gears up for the Summit of the Future, there are clear pointers of what needs to be done through multilateral approaches irrespective of political ideology, faith, gender or any socio-economic inclination. One of these is climate action that knows no borders.
Read the full article in the East African SusWatch INFORSE East Africa E bulletin (July 2024)
With regards to sustainable development and financing for development, the Summit of the Future must be an accelerator for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in full and on time through urgent and scaled-up action, policies and investments, including through the SDG Stimulus endorsed by governments at the SDG Summit last year.
According to the UN Secretary General, It aims to provide at least $500 billion US dollars annually in affordable long-term finance for developing countries. It calls for urgent action on debt, including breathing space for countries facing impossible repayment schedules. Its offset addresses the challenging market conditions faced by developing countries and accelerate progress towards the SDGs, including through investments in renewable energy,
universal social protection, decent job creation and the digital transformation. The UN Trade and Development (2023) estimates that nearly 57% of the African population, or about 751 million people, live in countries that spend more on interest payments than in the social sectors like climate action that need increasing (global) solid responsiveness.
Furthermore, as the African Development Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina noted at a high-level roundtable on climate finance convened during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings in April this year, “Africa is in the eye of the storm from climate change, accounting for 9 out of the 10 most vulnerable countries to climate change globally”. He added: “But Africa is not getting what it needs to adapt to climate change. Africa received just $30 billion per year for climate adaptation, while its needs are $277 billion per year, leaving a huge financing gap.”
Also UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report that was released ahead of the UN Climate talks in Dubai last year finds that the adaptation finance needs of developing countries are 10-18 times as big as international public finance flows – over 50 per cent higher than the previous range estimate. According to this Report, as a result of the growing adaptation finance needs and faltering flows, the current adaptation finance gap is now estimated to be US$194-366 billion per year. At the same time, adaptation planning and implementation appear to be plateauing. This failure to adapt has massive implications for losses and damages, particularly for the most vulnerable.
So as the world gears up for the Summit of the Future, there are clear pointers of what needs to be done through multilateral approaches irrespective of political ideology, faith, gender or any socio-economic inclination. One of these is climate action that knows no borders.
Read the full article in the East African SusWatch INFORSE East Africa E bulletin (July 2024)
