FFD4 IATF Policy Briefs - Domestic and International Private Business and Finance | Financing for Sustainable Development Office

Organization	Brief
ESCAP	"Enhancing Synergies Between Global Commitments and Aligning Financial Flows" Summary: This brief focuses on the importance of strengthening the coherence and consistency of the international development system with respect to financing sustainable development and climate ambitions. It highlights the fragmented approaches to financing currently prevalent and underscores the need to integrate international commitments regarding sustainable development and climate ambitions with national investment planning and financing processes. A similar integrated approach is called for at the global level as well. Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Addressing Systemic Issues; International Development Cooperation
ESCAP	"Financing Development through Trade: Harnessing Digital Opportunities" Summary: This policy brief highlights the challenges faced by Asia-Pacific developing economies, in particular LDCs, in tapping the potential of digital trade opportunities to finance sustainable development and discusses some potential policy solutions. It focuses on promoting domestic resource mobilization, fostering international cooperation, and supporting LDCs to participate in digital trade. The key recommendations include closing the digital divide, establishing coordinated digital tax frameworks, strengthening regulatory cooperation, and building digital-trade capacity for MSMEs and marginalized groups. Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; International Trade as an Engine for Development; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building
ESCAP	"Accelerating the Mobilization of Domestic and International Private Finance Towards the Sustainable Development Goals" Summary: This brief focuses on the importance of strengthening financial regulations that can accelerate private financing towards the Sustainable Development Goals in the Asia-Pacific region. The brief puts forward actions to deepen banking and capital markets in Asia and the Pacific, as well as outlines a new approach that combines concessional and private finance in the least developed countries in Asia and the Pacific. Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Debt and Debt Sustainability; Addressing Systemic Issues
GCF	"Innovative Approaches to Mobilizing Climate Finance" Summary: This policy brief explores innovative approaches to mobilizing climate finance, focusing on both public and private sector contributions. It highlights the urgent need for scalable finance solutions, given global economic volatility and rising debt levels in developing countries. Key solutions include unlocking alternative funding sources, leveraging debt restructuring, scaling blended finance, and utilizing innovative financial instruments. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) plays a critical role in catalyzing such investments and driving climate action, particularly in support of the most vulnerable. Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Addressing Systemic Issues; Debt and Debt Sustainability
GCF	"Reform of the International Financial Architecture to Tackle Global Challenges" Summary: The global finance landscape remains fragmented, insufficient, and not fit-for-purpose, limiting access for developing countries most in need. Urgent reforms are required to simplify access, scale up concessional finance, and mobilize private sector capital through blended finance mechanisms. Strengthening country ownership and improving transparency across financial flows are key priorities. The Fourth Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) should advocate for these reforms to close the sustainable development finance gap and accelerate progress toward global goals, especially for vulnerable and low-income countries. FFD4 must be the running point that transforms global financing landscape into a truly inclusive, scalable, impactable, fit-for-purpose and sustainable engine for achieving the SDGs, Post-2015 development Agenda, and Paris Agreement goals by 2030. Read the Brief Action Areas: Addressing Systemic Issues; International Development Cooperation; Domestic and International Private Business and Finance
IFAD-IOM	"The Role of Remittances and Diaspora Investments in Financing the SDGs" Summary: Remittances and diaspora investments are a major source of external private ﬁnance crucial for achieving SDGs, but their full potential remains largely untapped. Member States should acknowledge their potential and renew and expand their commitments to maximize their impact to development, ensuring access to formal, aﬀordable, and secure remittance services through supportive regulations, improved payment systems, digital solutions, and promoting ﬁnancial inclusion for both migrants and their families back home. At the same time, Member States should facilitate and support diaspora investments to homeland SMEs by creating diaspora engagement strategies and supportive environments, capacity-building for diaspora members, involve them in policy development, remove investment barriers, and provide adequate mechanisms to crowd in their investment. Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Cross-Cutting Issues; International Development Cooperation
IFC	"The Future of Aid: Scaling Private Sector Investments through Blended Finance" Summary: IFC’s brief outlines some of the necessary conditions for continued growth in the application of blended finance for private sector projects in emerging markets and developing economies to address global challenges like climate, fragility, food security, and gender. Enhanced transparency, new sources of flexible concessional finance, and continued collaboration between stakeholders are identified as key factors in helping the market scale to meet the SDG funding gap. Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance
ILO	"FDI for Decent and Productive Jobs" Summary: Investment is necessary but not sufficient for achieving inclusive economic growth and decent work. The ILO MNE Declaration provides an investment framework for coherent and synergistic policies concerning job creation, enterprise development, formalization, skills development and protection of workers’ rights. Consultation with social partners can ensure that decent work is prioritized while also enabling enterprises to grow. And dialogue between host and home countries could lead to better alignment of policies and ODA to support investment facilitation for development. Read the Brief Action Areas: International Trade as an Engine for Development; Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building
ILO	"Scaling up the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions" Read the Brief Action Areas: Addressing Systemic Issues; Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Cross-Cutting Issues
ILO	"Aligning Financial Systems with a Just Transition" Summary: Addressing both social and environmental objectives is essential to mitigate risks and seize opportunities related to the low-carbon transition. A just transition requires supportive financial flows and enabling financial systems. Member States can support mobilization of financial resources for a just transition by leveraging public development banks, incentivizing the use of financing instruments that attract private capital, developing comprehensive sustainable finance frameworks that consider social and environmental objectives, and developing capacities within the financial system. Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building; International Development Cooperation
INFF	"Making Finance work for People and Planet - Strengthening Country Financing Systems through Integrated National Financing Frameworks" Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance, Systemic Issues
PRI	"Investing for the Economic Transition: The Case of Whole-of-Government Policy Reform" Summary: This briefing addresses two action areas of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (the outcome document of FfD3): 1) domestic and international private business and finance; and 2) systemic issues. It is based on PRI’s 2023 policy white paper, Investing for the Economic Transition: The Case for Whole-of-Government Policy Reform Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Systemic Issues
PRI	"A Legal Framework for Impact" Summary: This briefing is part of the Financing Policy Brief Series developed by PRI and other members of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development. The objective of the briefing is to inform the substantive preparations for the Fourth Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4). Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Systemic Issues
UNCTAD	"Strategic Financing for the Energy Transition: Addressing Challenges and Unlocking Opportunities in Critical Energy Transition Minerals" Summary: The policy brief emphasizes the need for a long-term perspective and a stable investment environment for CETM projects, highlighting the importance of clear government regulations. It advocates expanding the capital base in developing countries through innovative financing mechanisms and lowering borrowing costs via international cooperation. The policy brief also underscores the importance of a holistic approach to financing, promoting value addition and diversification throughout the CETM value chain. Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; International Development Cooperation; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building
UNCTAD	"Bridging the SDG Investment Gap: Mobilizing International Investment for Sustainable Development" Summary: Global FDI flows declined since 2015, hindering progress towards the SDGs. FfD4 should seek to leverage partnerships between investment stakeholders, enhance countries’ readiness to attract investment in SDG, and promote home-country initiatives to channel investment. SWFs and institutional investors possess substantial capital that can be directed toward infrastructure and SDG, while more de-risking initiatives need to be developed. Systematic efforts to advance sustainability standards and address greenwashing is essential to grow sustainable finance. Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance, International Development Cooperation
UNESCO	"Perspectives for the Financing Culture as a Stand-alone Goal in the Post-2030 Agenda" Summary: Culture is now recognized as a key driver of inclusive sustainable development, as recently evidenced in the UN Pact for the Future. However, culture remains sidelined in discussions and policies on the financing of sustainable development. A more systematic integration of culture into financing frameworks – spanning domestic public resources, private sector investments, development cooperation and trade – is fundamental for accelerating the implementation of 2030 Agenda and for advancing sustainable development in the post-2030 agenda, including through culture as a stand-alone goal. Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic Public Resources; Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; International Development Cooperation
UNIDO	"Scaling up Investments in Sustainable Industrialization to close the SDG Financing Gap" Summary: Scaling up public and private investments in sustainable industrialization is a key to closing the SDG financing gap in developing countries. This UNIDO policy brief discusses how modern SDG-oriented industrial policies, complemented by innovative financing mechanisms and capacity-building, can play an important role in directing financing towards strategic investments and sectors, thus accelerating progress towards the SDGs. Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic Public Resources; Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building
UNODC	"Anti-Corruption: Securing the Future of Development Financing" Summary: Corruption is a cross-cutting issue, impacting all aspects of the financing for development agenda. Neglecting to adequately address corruption could jeopardize the entire process. By including and investing in proven anti-corruption measures and strengthening international cooperation in the recovery of proceeds of corruption, we can ensure that financial resources are effectively mobilized and safeguarded for development. Corruption is a cross-cutting issue, impacting all aspects of the financing for development agenda. Neglecting to adequately address corruption could jeopardize the entire process. By including and investing in proven anti-corruption measures and strengthening international cooperation in the recovery of proceeds of corruption, we can ensure that financial resources are effectively mobilized and safeguarded for development. Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic Public Resources; Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Cross-Cutting Issues
World Bank	"The Future of Aid: Rebalancing the Global Aid Architecture to Restore Aid Effectiveness" Summary: This policy brief describes the evolving landscape of the global aid architecture and the critical role of multilateral banks, like IDA, in promoting a more equitable and more effective distribution of resources. It analyzes the need for a rebalancing in the allocation of aid to ensure greater effectiveness and impact. The brief highlights the importance of better funding MDBs, strengthening country ownership, improved collaboration among donors, transparency, and accountability in achieving sustainable development goals. Read the Brief Action Areas: International Development Cooperation; Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Systemic Issues
WTO	"Bridging the Global Trade Finance Gap: Empowering SMEs and Driving Sustainable Growth" Summary: This policy brief addresses the $1.5 trillion global trade finance gap, which disproportionately impacts small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies. It outlines key challenges, including high rejection rates and compliance costs, and proposes targeted solutions such as expanding risk-sharing frameworks, strengthening local financial institutions, and promoting climate-friendly trade finance. The brief emphasizes the need for multilateral cooperation to close the gap, promote inclusive growth, and support the transition to a low-carbon global economy. Read the Brief Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; International Development Cooperation; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building

Organization

Brief

ESCAP

"Enhancing Synergies Between Global Commitments and Aligning Financial Flows"

Summary: This brief focuses on the importance of strengthening the coherence and consistency of the international development system with respect to financing sustainable development and climate ambitions. It highlights the fragmented approaches to financing currently prevalent and underscores the need to integrate international commitments regarding sustainable development and climate ambitions with national investment planning and financing processes. A similar integrated approach is called for at the global level as well.