By Ramesh Jaura* – Peace. Security. Sustainability! rjaura.substack.com
The Sevilla conference offers a pivotal chance to change direction.
At a time when global temperatures are breaking records, wars are straining budgets, and economic inequality is on the rise, the world is also facing a quieter crisis: a massive shortfall in funding the very goals meant to safeguard humanity’s future.
According to the United Nations, the world needs an additional $4 trillion every year to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—a sweeping set of 17 targets agreed upon a decade ago by nearly every country to tackle poverty, hunger, inequality, and climate change by 2030.
But halfway to that deadline, progress has stalled. In some areas, it has reversed.
The core problem, say experts, is money—not just the lack of it, but the way the international financial system is structured. Developing nations face high borrowing costs, debt traps, and economic rules written primarily without their input. Meanwhile, donor assistance is shrinking, and global trade policies often benefit the powerful at the expense of the poor.
Now, the world has a rare chance to change course.
Leaders from around the globe will convene from June 30 to July 2 in the Spanish city of Sevillafor the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development—a once-in-a-decade gathering billed as a critical moment to rethink the rules of global finance and how they intersect with sustainable development.
“This conference presents a unique opportunity to reform an international financial system that is outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said ahead of the event. “We need big ideas and bold reforms.”
Why the SDGs Are Falling Behind
When the SDGs were adopted in 2015, they represented an ambitious vision: to eradicate extreme poverty, ensure universal access to healthcare and education, promote gender equality, and respond to climate change—all by 2030.
But many of these targets are now out of reach. The COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, inflation, and a growing debt crisis have all taken a toll.
If current trends continue, more than 600 million people will still be living in extreme poverty by the end of the decade. Nearly 3.3 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt servicing than on health or education.
“These are not just numbers. They represent lives curtailed by broken promises,” said Shari Spiegel, Director of Financing for Sustainable Development at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). “Financing for development is about changing the way the system works so that countries can invest in their futures.”
What Is Financing for Development?
At its essence, financing for development seeks to answer a fundamental question: How can the world pay for a fairer, more sustainable future?
Over the years, global agreements have aimed to create a system that mobilises every part of the international financial architecture—tax policy, trade, subsidies, private capital, and aid—to serve development goals. The idea is to create a funding ecosystem that’s as inclusive as possible, giving countries the means to meet their citizens’ basic needs while investing in long-term resilience.
Multilateral development banks offer concessional loans and technical support. Official Development Assistance (ODA) channels aid from wealthy nations to low-income countries. Revised tax and trade frameworks can incentivise green growth and equitable investment.
But the system isn’t working.
Trade barriers are rising. ODA is declining. Private capital is flowing to safer, richer markets. Meanwhile, the costs of borrowing for developing countries remain astronomically high, two to four times higher than those for wealthier nations.
“Faced with sky-high debt burdens and cost of capital, developing countries have limited prospects of financing the Sustainable Development Goals,” Guterres noted.
The Debt Trap
Perhaps the most devastating aspect of the current system is debt. Many low- and middle-income countries allocate a greater proportion of their budget to interest payments than to public services. As crises erupt—from pandemics to climate disasters—these countries are often compelled to borrow even more, trapping them in a vicious cycle that leaves little room for investment in infrastructure, education, or clean energy.
“These costs tend to spike during or after crises,” Spiegel explained. “That creates a feedback loop where countries can’t afford to build the very systems—healthcare, transport, climate resilience—that would make them more stable and self-reliant.”
One stark statistic from the UN: by 2030, unless there is radical change, the SDGs will remain decades away from realisation.
What’s at Stake in Sevilla?
The Sevilla conference offers a pivotal chance to change direction. For the first time in years, the global community is preparing to agree on a comprehensive reform package that could reshape the development finance landscape.
The conference will bring together governments, international institutions, economists, and civil society actors to negotiate new approaches and commit to shared goals. Developing countries, often excluded from key financial decision-making processes, will be at the table.
“This is not just about pledges,” said Spiegel. “It’s about restructuring the system to make it fairer, more inclusive, and more responsive to today’s challenges.”
Proposals under discussion include:
· Restructuring unsustainable debt and improving access to affordable credit.
· Reforming global tax systems to prevent illicit financial flows and tax evasion.
· Redirecting public subsidies—such as those for fossil fuels—toward sustainable development.
· Lowering the cost of capital for developing nations through international guarantees and risk-sharing mechanisms.
· Enhancing multilateralism to ensure that global institutions better reflect the realities of a multipolar world.
However, the road to consensus is a rocky one. In a late-stage setback, the United States withdrew from the negotiation process, citing objections to the proposed language in the outcome document.
Still, the UN insists that momentum remains strong and that the conference can mark the beginning of a new era.
A Moment of Reckoning
In many ways, Sevilla is less a finish line than a starting point. What emerges from the conference—both the agreements reached and the political will to implement them—will determine whether the world can still achieve its development goals.
“The question is no longer, can we afford it?” said Guterres. “Can we afford not to?“
For the billions of people living without access to education, healthcare, clean water, or economic opportunity, the stakes could not be higher.
“We need to match ambition with action,” Spiegel added. “The world has waited long enough.“
*Ramesh Jaura, has worked as a professional journalist for nearly sixty years. His career includes roles as a freelancer, head of Inter Press Service, and Editor-in-Chief of International Press Syndicate and IDN-InDepthNews.