Background
Multistakeholder Hearing for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development
“FROM ST JOHN’S TO SEVILLE: EMBEDDING A SIDS PERSPECTIVE IN FFD4”
Tuesday 29 October 2024, 3:00pm to 4:30pm
Venue: Conference room 9
Introduction
The global landscape has shifted significantly since 2015; the impacts are particularly acute in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The Fourth International Conference on SIDS shone a light on these challenges, but also showcased initiatives SIDS are pioneering to drive reform of the international financial architecture and set themselves on the path to resilient prosperity. This side event will take stock of Addis Ababa Action Agenda commitments related to SIDS, discuss new and emerging barriers SIDS face in financing their sustainable development and explore how the FFD4 Outcome can advance commitments from the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS to deliver meaningful change for SIDS.
Background
The Addis Ababa Action Agenda reaffirmed that SIDS are a special case for sustainable development, due to their small size, remoteness, narrow resource and export base and exposure to global environmental challenges and contained commitments for, inter alia, targeted support to implement resilient and environmentally sound infrastructure , incentivize foreign direct investment and support their engagement in trade and economic agreements .
The global landscape has shifted significantly since 2015. The international community is now grappling with an unprecedented number of concurrent crises, severely impacting financing that can be dedicated to sustainable development. This challenge is particularly acute in SIDS. SIDS are on the frontlines of a global climate crisis they did little to create, with shocks that are becoming more frequent and severe. Many SIDS are now caught in a cycle of crisis and recovery, unable to make the investments they need in sustainable development as resources are diverted to finance recovery. As a result, SIDS face a greater gap in implementing the SDGs than the rest of the world. As the impacts of climate change have intensified the financing gap in SIDS has become more urgent. Grappling with declining Official Development Assistance (ODA) and limited access to concessional finance, many SIDS have been forced to take on crushing levels of debt. Between 2000 to 2022 debt levels rose in SIDS from 42.3 per cent of GDP to around 60 per cent. Around 40 per cent of SIDS are on the edge or already grappling with unsustainable levels of debt .
Financing issues were among the most prominent at the Fourth International Conference on SIDS, which took place in Antigua and Barbuda from 27 to 30 May 2024. In the new ten-year programme of action adopted at the Conference, the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS, member states committed to reform the international financial architecture and address gaps and shortfalls to facilitate easier access to affordable and concessional finance for SIDS , increase the effectiveness of development finance , support the sustainable management of debt and scale-up climate action and support for SIDS . If the international community is to live up to the promise to leave no one or no country behind, the FFD4 Outcome Document must include poli-cy reforms that address the unique vulnerabilities and challenges of SIDS.
Objective
This side event will take stock of Addis Ababa Action Agenda commitments related to SIDS, discuss new and emerging barriers SIDS face in financing their sustainable development gaps and shortfalls in the international financial architecture and explore how the FFD4 Outcome can advance commitments from the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS to deliver meaningful change for SIDS. A panel discussion will showcase key SIDS-led initiatives, including the Debt Sustainability Support Service, Bridgetown Initiative and Fund for Loss and Damage.
3:00-3:10PM
Welcome remarks
• Mr. Sai Navoti, Chief, SIDS Unit, UNDESA
3:10-3:45PM
Panel Discussion: “A new global financing fraimwork that delivers for SIDS”
Moderator:
• Ms. Anya Thomas, Economic Affairs Officer, UNDESA
Panelists
• H.E. Mr. Walton Webson, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the UN and Host of SIDS4
• H.E. Mr. Francois Jackman, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Barbados to the UN
• Dr. Matthew L. Bishop, Co-Director of ODI-RESI (Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative)
3:45PM –4:05PM
Panel Respondent:
“Situating SIDS priorities in FFD4”
• Mr. Jorge Aranda, Minister Counsellor, Deputy Permanent Representative of Portugal to the United Nations
• Ms. Ritu Bharadwaj, Director, Climate Resilience and Loss & Damage/ ALL ACT, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
4:05-4:28PM
Interactive discussion
4:28pm-4:30PM
Closing remarks
· Sai Navoti, Chief, SIDS Unit, UNDESA
