Financing the SDGs: How can parliaments bridge the gap?

Excellences,
Ladies and gentlemen,

A warm welcome to the Palais and many thanks to IPU and UNCTAD for organising this event together with my Office.

We are meeting three years into our collective journey to make the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development a reality. The end goal of what we’re trying to achieve is crystal clear: a world free of poverty; a fairer world, a world that respects the limits of nature.

The transformative impact of the SDGs has been both incredible and wonderful to witness. In Geneva, we see new partnerships forming; we sense a new collaborative gene taking hold; and we feel inspired by a new spirit of innovation.

But we also know this progress is not fast enough and it is uneven. In some areas, we risk backsliding.

Not only are we still suffering from many protracted conflicts, but new ones have arisen, along with complex humanitarian crises and mass movements of refugees. Inequality remains alarmingly high and the impact of climate change is worsening. For the first time in a decade, the number of people who are undernourished has increased. Young people remain three times more likely to be unemployed than adults. And discrimination against women remains pervasive.

Quite simply, we are falling behind in our promise to leave no one behind – even if the global economy continues to grow.

Which is why we have much more work to do to mobilize the necessary financial resources to achieve the transformation we need to improve the lives of people.

Which is why we are here today.

Parliamentarians play an absolutely vital role in our efforts:

̶ You are the bridge between the local, national, and international.
̶ You have your finger on the pulse of people’s concerns and the ear of decision-makers in government.
̶ You domesticate global priorities. And vice versa, you aggregate local interests into national policies and global priorities.
̶ You break down silos that exist between national ministries.
̶ You authorize the resources and pass the legislation that translate global commitments into local action.

And you can show leadership by taking strategic action to unlock funding for the 2030 Agenda. That means developing a vision for financing the SDGs that extends beyond short term political cycles and aims to mobilize the full range of resources - public and private, domestic and international.

Member States are in the driver’s seat of implementing the SDGs, but they cannot do it alone. We need to step up engagement with the private sector. Interest in sustainable investment is growing, and that is good news. With funds in global capital markets amounting to around $300 trillion, there is much greater scope for tapping the full potential of private investment. More needs to be done to incentivize greater sustainable investment - including through national legislation by parliaments. The SDG Lab in my office is exploring pathways for finance to act and invest sustainably, and I invite you to learn more about what they are finding out.

We have no time to lose. But with parliamentarians on our side, working together with the United Nations and our many other partners, I am sure we can make real, meaningful and swift progress.

Thank you.