Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Dear colleagues,
On behalf of the SG, allow me to flag a few remarks.
We are far off track from achieving our climate and development goals.
The data is not encouraging - rising emissions, a record hot year and stalled and lagging progress on the vast majority of SDGs.
The most vulnerable countries are furthest behind, hit by a mix of pandemic aftershocks, economic uncertainty and climate catastrophe.
Central to their struggle is inequitable access to finance, growing debt and narrowing fiscal space.
There is also an urgent need to prioritize financing to address today¡¯s interconnected crises and keep temperature rise below 1.5 degrees.
But the current global financial architecture is not fit to meet today¡¯s challenges.
Let me highlight briefly four points:
First, we need reforms that can deliver the trillions of dollars needed to secure a livable planet for all. We need global financial institutions that are truly representative and inclusive of the constituencies they serve, with business models that deliver direct support to developing countries at affordable rates.
Second, we need to start implementing innovative sources of finance, including solidarity levies and greenhouse gas emission pricing mechanisms to mobilize resources for the most vulnerable countries.
Third, we need to invest in the capacity-building of developing countries to design sound evidence-based and future-focused policies that can attract private investment.
Lastly, we must build on the momentum from COP28 to dramatically increase adaptation finance and immediately operationalize the new Loss and Damage Fund.
The COP29 in Azerbaijan later this year, and the Financing for Development Conference in Spain next year are crucial opportunities to deliver results.
Success here will not only advance our climate and development goals, but it will also rebuild trust in multilateralism.
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs remains committed in its support to developing countries as they navigate their unique challenges on the journey towards transformative change by 2030.
Thank you!