51吃瓜

听Ban Ki-moon and senior 51吃瓜 officials today hailed the outcome of the financing for development conference in Addis Ababa as the first milestone in a critical year in which major decisions are also expected on the future sustainable development agenda and on climate change.

鈥淭he Addis Ababa Action Agenda is a major step forward in building a world of prosperity and dignity for all,鈥� Mr. Ban said in a听, adding that it revitalizes the global partnership for development and establishes a strong foundation for implementation of the future development agenda.

The Action Agenda, adopted at the conclusion of the听, contains a series of bold measures to overhaul global finance practices and generate investments for tackling a range of economic, social and environmental challenges.

Building on the outcomes of previous conferences held in Monterrey, Mexico, and in Doha, Qatar, the document addresses all sources of finance, and covers cooperation on a range of issues including technology, science, innovation, trade and capacity building.

Mr. Ban noted that the Addis conference was the first of three milestones this year. 鈥淢ember States have now passed this first hurdle. Now we must work ever harder for a successful summit on sustainable development in September in New York and for a meaningful agreement on climate change in December in Paris.鈥�

Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the Conference, highlighted the fact that the Action Agenda features a comprehensive set of policy actions with a package of over 100 concrete measures and some concrete deliverables.

鈥淭he Action Agenda provides a global framework for financing sustainable development and developing sustainable finance. This new framework aligns all financing flows and policies with economic, social and environmental priorities.鈥�

Among the new initiatives agreed by Member States is the establishment of a Technology Facilitation Mechanism at the summit to be held in September in New York to boost collaboration among various actors to support the Sustainable Development Goals.

In addition, countries agreed to establish a Global Infrastructure Forum to identify and address infrastructure gaps, highlight opportunities for investment and cooperation, and work to ensure that projects are environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.

They also decided to strengthen the financing for development follow-up process to ensure that no country is left behind, including by establishing an annual financing for development forum and an inter-agency task force which will report annually on progress in implementing the FFD outcomes.

In the Action Agenda, countries also recommitted to achieving the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income for official development assistance (ODA), and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent for least developed countries.

鈥淲e are really, really pleased with the outcome,鈥� said Amina Mohammed, the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning, welcoming in particular the decision on ODA. 鈥淎 few years after the financial crisis, when we began this conversation, there was very little appetite for a discussion on 0.7 but today we have a recommitment to it.鈥�

The recommitment on ODA was also welcomed by Gyan Chandra Acharya, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

鈥淭here is a very clear forward-looking commitment coming from the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. It talks about, with a timeline, implementation of 0.2 per cent of GNI going to the LDCs,鈥� Mr. Acharya said. 鈥淚t was there before but it was more aspirational. But now it is coming with a very strong commitment to implement it.鈥�

The Action Agenda also calls for strengthening support for the work of the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters to improve its effectiveness and operational capacity, and the engagement with the Economic and Social Council.

On climate change, the outcome calls on developed countries to implement their commitment to a goal of jointly mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020 from a wide variety of sources to address the needs of developing countries. Countries also committed to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that lead to wasteful consumption.