PRESS RELEASE : Closing the financing gap to rescue the SDGs matters for all our 2030 Agenda objectives – UK statement at the UN [May 2024]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 May 2024.
Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum.
Thank you, President.
Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,
We look forward to the Finance for Development conference next year as a pivotal opportunity for us to take stock of progress we’ve made, rally behind new critical collective actions and build consensus on further reforms.
Closing the financing gap to rescue the SDGs matters for all our 2030 Agenda objectives. From eradicating poverty to tackling climate change to promoting peace.
To close the gap, we need a build a bigger, better, and fairer financial system which is more responsive to the needs of developing countries and reflects the realities of the challenges we face today.
Firstly, we need to scale up finance from all sources, including the private sector and from MDBs.
Last week at the Springs, the United Kingdom pledged $125 million in hybrid capital to the World Bank. We did so alongside other donors and through leveraging our collective contributions could unlock an additional $70 billion of World Bank lending over the next decade.
Next, we must go further, including on stretching MDBs’ balance sheets and delivering an ambitious IDA replenishment.
The system must be more effective and shock responsive. We call on all creditors to offer climate resilient debt clauses, which pause debt repayments when disaster strikes, providing space for developing countries to respond.
And finally, it must be fairer too. This means greater representation and voice for the poorest and most vulnerable, including at the World Bank and IMF boards, tackling illicit financial flows, and helping countries access the revenues they are owed from tax.
