Sustainable finance in the progress of the 2030 Agenda

At the Summit held in New York on 18 and 19 September, the Italian Strategy was approved and is to be verified in the coming months. The strategy is intended to verify developments on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda 2030. In a few years' time at the UN General Assembly "Summit of the future" to be held in September 2024, it will be possible to verify whether this strategy has been successfully implemented. Furthermore, the large participation of heads of state and government at the Summit of September 2023 made it possible to develop a final shared statement.

The agreed final declaration consists of 43 points, of which two in particular (31 and 38ix) emphasise the need for urgent financial actions by banking institutions towards developing countries. The topic was also addressed by the European Parliament in the resolution of 15 June for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The resolution highlights the need for "a thorough review of the global financial architecture in order to align all parties with the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement on Climate Action and the global biodiversity framework". This raises the importance of targeted actions in the financial field by adapting the system to a 'sustainable finance'.

The UN Under-Secretary, António Guterres, emphasised that governments must deliver on the commitments they made at the Summit by dedicating the next Voluntary national review to progress in achieving the SDGs. These targets are extensively detailed in the Summit outcome document and the policy brief. Currently, five policy briefs have been published, focusing on digital and technology, online information, space governance, multilateralism and education systems.

At the Summit in September 2023, Gueterres prioritised various aspects ranging from the importance of food security for citizens to the need to promote renewable energies, dwelling on the international financial architecture to ensure a flow of money to protect developing countries. Such intervention is indispensable for the achievement of the SDGs goals. The pillar of the international financial architecture is the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an institution created at the end of the Second World War to ensure financial stability and economic progress, embedded in the Bretton Woods Agreements.

The IMF provides loans in exchange for reform commitments in order to tackle temporary crises and avoid traumatic devaluations. In addition, it has the ability to create money autonomously through Special Drawing Rights (SDR). The international financial architecture, in particular the International Monetary Fund, is in need of a makeover as demand has changed. Indeed, there is a need to create a sustainable finance with the integration of long-term lending to address structural problems related to the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.

The results of the Summit were commented on by the scientific director of the ASviS, Enrico Giovannini, who emphasised the importance of approving a National Sustainable Development Strategy (SNSvS) launched by the Interministerial Committee for Ecological Transition (Cite). Giovannini commented positively on the strategy, but did not hide the weak points. He reiterated that the strategy should be the reference point for the coordination of all governmental actions as well as for those of the regions and metropolitan cities in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. While waiting for the verification of the results on the progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, which includes the adoption of the ESG criteria, foreseen by the 2030 Agenda, ASviS participated in numerous initiatives at the Global week to #Act4SDGs promoted by the United Nations.

The text of the National Development Strategy (NDS), was born with a considerable delay, as it had already been approved in draft and presented by the previous government at the High-level Political Forum in New York in July 2022. Importantly, the Cite meeting on 18 September 2023 was the first after ten months of government. Recall that the Cite is the body responsible for inter-ministerial coordination for the implementation of the Agenda. Therefore, the Strategy was born with a considerable delay and it remains to be seen whether it will actually deliver the desired results.

In the National Development Strategy, it will be important to assess progress in relation to two specific plans: the Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (Pniec), which is currently being discussed with civil society with a view to submission to Brussels in June 2024. This plan has been strongly criticised by ASviS for its lack of specificity in a recent policy brief; and the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (Pnacc), evaluated by ASviS but still in the process of formalisation and approval

Even if there are obvious weaknesses of the UN and uncertainties in the strategy for achieving the SDGs, the fact remains that the organisation is the only point of reference for keeping the collaborative commitments on environmental and social issues, such as the climate crisis, mass migrations and the defence of rights. Even Italy is called upon to do its part, as underlined by the ASVIS, approaching the goal of donating 0.7% of its national income to international development. As Guterres recalled at the opening of the 2015 Summit, all the countries of the world have signed a commitment to build "a world of health, progress and opportunity for all, leaving no one behind, and to be willing to cover the costs necessary to achieve it".

On a national, European and global level, a year of intense work lies ahead. The European Union, in particular, faces important deadlines that will determine the achievement of sustainable development, as clearly laid out at the Summit 2023 in New York. As stated by the UNO secretary-general, António Guterres, this commitment should lead to a new 'Pact for the Future' in 2024, which would represent a renewed commitment to collaboration between nations and be an initial basis for discussing shared goals beyond 2030. To combat the challenges on biodiversity and support businesses in adopting ESG criteria aimed at achieving the SDGs, 3Bee plays an important role. Through its technology it is involved in the protection and regeneration of terrestrial biodiversity operating mainly in Italy, France, Germany and Spain.



Article by Angelina Tortora