Financing for Development Key to Addressing United Nations Priorities, Secretary-General Says at World Bank Meeting
Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki‑moon’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the World Bank meeting on post-2015 financing for development in Washington, D.C., today:
It is a pleasure to be with you to discuss the question of financing for the post-2015 sustainable development agenda.
The key year of 2015 is fast approaching. We have three priorities to focus on in the coming months. First, we must accelerate our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. This would give us the best possible launching pad for the next generation of goals. Second, we have to agree on a transformative post-2015 development agenda. Third, we need to achieve a meaningful universal climate agreement in Paris.
Financing will be at the heart of the political agreement Governments have to reach for successfully implementing a sustainable development agenda. That is why the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in July 2015 in Addis Ababa, is so important. The Conference will review the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus and Doha Declaration. It will also address new challenges and emerging issues.
The stakes and expectations are very high. The outcome of the Conference can be a milestone for the Summit on the post-2015 development agenda in September 2015 — or it can undermine the credibility of the entire enterprise. Member States must deliver. There will be several important inputs for the preparation of the Conference.
The report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing is especially important. It has made three major contributions: first, it develops an analytical framework. Second, it proposes a basket of over 115 policy options. And third, it suggests areas for advancement of the global partnership.
The report highlights a number of new elements that the financing framework must take into account, including climate change. It stresses that while Official Development Assistance remains indispensable, all financing sources — domestic and international, public, private and blended — must be mobilized. And it goes beyond the Monterrey Consensus to identify both sources and uses of financing, in an effort towards a convergence of the Monterrey and Rio processes, thereby setting the stage for Addis Ababa.
Member States, under the auspices of the President of the United Nations General Assembly, are now starting the preparatory process for Addis. The World Bank is an important partner. Multilateral development banks have a critical role to play in unlocking private financing through new mechanisms and approaches. We need your operational expertise in structuring financial instruments that can leverage private resources through public ones to achieve sustainable development.
At last month’s Climate Summit, we heard impressive new commitments of public and private finance. Some $2.3 billion was pledged towards the Green Climate Fund’s initial capitalization. Representatives of the financial sector announced ambitious initiatives. Many leaders endorsed the call for putting a price on carbon, thanks to the leadership of the World Bank and the United Nations Global Compact.
The Addis Ababa Conference should build on these commitments. A strong agreement on Financing for Development will lay the groundwork for an ambitious post-2015 agenda and an agreement on climate.
We count on your contributions to make the Conference a success. Multilateral development banks have the expertise and track record with infrastructure and other key investments that are critical for achieving sustainable development. We look to you to help make the difference between high-level rhetoric and real impact in the lives of the people we serve. I commend the work done by President [Jim Yong] Kim and I look forward to continue such collaboration in the run-up to the Addis Conference and beyond.