Financing the 2030 Agenda

Jan 26, 2018

How to finance the 2030 Agenda at the country level has emerged as a key issue since world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015. Governments’ abilities to mobilize, sequence and make effective use of a wide variety of both financing sources and financing instruments and strategies will be central to their ability to achieve the ambitious new sustainable development agenda. This is reflected in SDG 17, “strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development” which tasks countries to strengthen domestic resource mobilization, meet aid commitments and mobilize additional financial resources for development from multiple sources.*

As a longstanding and trusted multilateral development partner to over 170 countries and territories worldwide, and with a robust track record in areas such as support for public financial management, aid coordination and environmental finance, many countries want to know how UNDP – and the UN development system as a whole – can support them to finance the SDGs.

This guidebook responds to increased country-level demand for support on financing the 2030 Agenda. It is intended to be an 'entry point' for advice and information on financing for sustainable development, and the tools and services that UNDP offers in this space.

This guidebook is organized as follows:

Part 1 The Global Context: provides an overview of current and recent trends in financing for development and explores their implications for the financing of the 2030 Agenda;

Part 2 looks at some of the key ways in which UNDP can provide country level support on financing for development;

Part 3 details UNDP’s current portfolio of work on financing for development, and provides information on the tools and services we provide, and where to source more information;

Part 4 Financing Solutions in Focus: describes some of the most widely-used financial instruments as well as innovative finance mechanisms and looks at their pros and cons.

* For further information on SDG 17, see: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg17

The guidebook is complemented by a UNDP website, Financing Solutions for Sustainable Development. The on-line platform features instruments such as blended finance, development impact bonds, green bonds, trust funds, challenge funds, guarantees, impact investment, and many more. It describes each instrument’s potential, feasibility, advantages, disadvantages, risks and characteristics. It also profiles case studies and refers to multiple external sources, including e-learning and advanced guidance material, where available. It aims to provide UN country teams and other stakeholders with detailed and up-to-date information to enable them to review and operationalize the most appropriate financing solutions and strategies for each country.