In Washington, UN chief urges finance leaders to ‘plant seeds’ of post-2015 agenda

Financing will be key for the creation and unveiling of an ambitious post-2015 development agenda, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared today, as he stressed that 2015 marked a time of global action for people and the planet.

“Our aim is to eradicate poverty and create shared prosperity, the Secretary-General told the International Monetary Fund’s International Monetary and Finance Committee during his ongoing trip to Washington, D.C.

“Done wisely, this transformation will not come at the cost of economic growth,” Mr. Ban continued. “Indeed, it can be a catalyst for growth that is cleaner, more sustainable and more equitable. As leaders of public finance, you can help plant the seeds of this transformation.”

The post-2015 development agenda would be characterized by two events in particular, the UN chief said, as he pointed to the three-day UN Special Summit scheduled for September in New York and the climate negotiations to be held in Paris in December.

For both events, he observed, financing would be “key” and an ambitious and comprehensive global climate financing framework remained a necessity in order “to stimulate investment, boost inclusive, low-carbon growth and create decent jobs.”

“We need a credible trajectory for realizing the $100 billion goal per year by 2020, as well as the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund. This was a commitment which was made in 2009 during the Copenhagen climate change summit meeting,” Mr. Ban explained. “We have only mobilized $10 billion as an initial capitalization of this Green Climate Fund. I would really hope that there will be a trajectory, a path, which will be shown to the Member States.”

The Secretary-General acknowledged that the public and private sectors would need to join together in order to create incentives and regulatory frameworks that would encourage long-term sustainable growth and development. In addition, he said, a conducive international enabling environment would also be “critical” which, in turn, required addressing issues of global economic governance and ensuring that “all our international institutions are fit for purpose.”

“Creating a holistic approach to financing for sustainable development can only be accomplished with your active support,” Mr. Ban added.

“Let us work together in this pivotal year for global action to truly build a safer and more sustainable world for all.”

Meanwhile, in separate remarks delivered to the IMF’s Development Committee, the Secretary-General reiterated the importance of the IMF, World Bank Group and Regional Development Banks in helping the UN roll-out the post-2015 development agenda.

“It is essential to strengthen cooperation within the multilateral system to forge a comprehensive package on the means of implementation,” he declared. “That means we also need a paradigm shift in financing sustainable development.”

Mr. Ban outlined what he described as “six guideposts” which he said would help usher the international community to its desired goals including domestic resource mobilization; tapping both public and private funds; developing new instruments and policies to increase non-concessional finance and more effectively blend concessional and non-concessional support to the public sector; mobilizing climate finance; boosting the quality of private finance; and innovating and transferring appropriate technologies as a non-financial means of implementation.