A new report from Force for Good indicated the world is far off track from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, with only 16 percent expected to be met by 2030. The dire assessment comes as funding to meet those goals has swollen to a staggering $14 trillion-$17 trillion annual requirement, within a total cost estimate of $112 trillion-$136 trillion. Such factors that are driving this gap are climatic transition costs and the urgencies of the development aspirations of the Global South.
Escalating Concerns on SDG Achievement
The report, “Capital as a Force for Good: Shifting the Global Order Through the Mass Mobilisation of Solutions,” presents a rather bleak future for the global development effort. As the deadline to achieve SDGs approaches, countries are experiencing difficult upgrades. The document brings to light the current rage of COVID-19, the intensified conflicts in all corners of the world, and several environmental disasters, which, put together, have become a ‘polycrisis’. All these crises collectively have taken away the diverted attention and resources meant for sustainable development. This has made it even more challenging to draw closer to the SDGs.
Nine Transformative Initiatives to Bridge the Gap
The nine transformative initiatives report again, in the light of the funding crisis and deadline, accelerate initiatives toward moving the world toward SDGs. Fresh applications with innovative solutions and collective efforts toward better development outcomes make this report important. Some of the main proposals are as follows:
Climate Transition Framework: It offers integrated strategies that guarantee support for sustainability over economic systems.
AI-Powered Connectivity: For accelerating access to information and resources in underserved areas through artificial intelligence.
Universal Digital Financial Services Expand digital financial services to further open up funding and investment opportunities for marginalized communities.
These may well push the SDG rate, potentially, close to 90 percent by the end of the decade in the event that they are implemented and scaled worldwide and attain viable globalization since it is barely less than 66 percent thus far.
The Need for Coordinated Action
The success of the proposed initiatives is contingent upon coordinated action by pertinent stakeholders, such as governments, the private sector, and international institutions. Efforts toward such collaboration must be geared towards collaboration with the United Nations in ensuring timely implementation and effectiveness of the solutions presented across the nations.
It points to mobilizing capital as an avenue for good; that is, the available financial resources needed to overcome the challenges set out in the SDGs but which would be realized by joint effort and novel funding mechanisms. It warns, in fact, that the pace is unsustainable and urgent collective action is needed to flip the script.
Building a Funding Bridge This calls for filling the funding gap.
The major issue here is the large funding gap. The report concludes funding needs now stand at $14 to $17 trillion annually, highly out of reach of the available resources. One of the primary sources of these gaps, especially in developing nations, is climate transition costs. The challenges characterizing countries will have high vulnerabilities to impacts brought about by climate change and limited access to financial resources.
The report concludes by suggesting closing up this gap through public and private investment, better financial inclusion, and effectiveness in funding mechanisms already in place. Addressing such concerns can make it easier to develop a more favorable environment for investments in sustainable development.
Global Crises Affecting Sustainable Development
Through the identification of a couple of global crises that affect sustainable development efforts, the report Force for Good establishes that the resource strain brought by the new COVID-19 pandemic is diverting attention away from long-term goals. Geopolitical conflicts have created instability, further bringing progress to a grinding halt, and environmental disasters increase in frequency and severity, all complicating efforts toward achieving the SDGs.
These are interlinked crises, and thus they contribute to the overall hardships that nations face in their efforts towards development. Cumulatively, these issues overwhelm the countries and make it more challenging to narrow down development priorities and allocate resources for sustainable development.
Conclusion: A Call to Action
The report of the Force for Good is very important in reminding the world that coordinated action is of utmost urgency in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. With the deadline approaching fast and funds still lacking, there is a need for unity among all the stakeholders to implement all the initiatives proposed in order to channel resources toward sustainable development.
The world, at large, is already stumbling through a myriad of crises. It is, therefore, really important that the world, as a whole, recognizes the necessity of sustainable development and collective accountability in solving those problems. Resources can be mobilized and joint initiatives can be undertaken between governments and businesses and international institutions in paving the way to a more sustainable future.
Source: Force for Good