Latest news with #SevilleCommitment
The Star
a day ago
- Business
- The Star
UN bids to salvage global development summit after US boycott
MADRID/LONDON (Reuters) -Scores of world leaders will be sweltering in the summer sun of southern Spain next week at a once-a-decade United Nations development financing summit aimed at curbing global poverty, disease and the worst-case threats of climate change. Despite the scorching temperatures, though, a major chill looms over the event - the decision early this month by the United States, traditionally the world's largest aid giver and key finance provider, not to show up. UN countries want to close a $4 trillion-a-year funding gap they now estimate prevents the developing world achieving the organisation's Sustainable Development Goals that range from cutting infant death rates to minimising global warming. Critics say the promises at the heart of the conference - called the "Seville Commitment" - are nowhere near bold enough. The measures, agreed by consensus after a year of tough negotiations, include tripling multilateral lending capacity, debt relief, a push to boost tax-to-GDP ratios to at least 15%, and shifting special IMF money to countries that need it most. The run-up, however, has been marred by the U.S. decision to withdraw over what it said was the crossing of a number of its red lines, including the push to triple development bank lending, change tax rules and the use of the term "gender" in summit wording. The European Union only joined the summit with reservations, particularly over how debt is discussed within the UN. Speaking to reporters this week, U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed described Washington's boycott as "regrettable", especially after its "catastrophic" recent aid cuts that she said had cost lives and livelihoods. Speaking alongside officials from summit host Spain and Zambia, which has helped organise it, she said the final outcome document agreed reflected both "ambition and realism" and that the U.N. would try to re-engage the U.S. afterwards. Remy Rioux, chief executive officer of the French Development Agency, said Washington's withdrawal had not been a total surprise given Donald Trump's views. The hope is that agreements next week will allow bolder action at the UN climate talks in Brazil in November. "We will push for the new framework... (and) its operationalisation from Seville to Belem," he added, referring to the Brazilian city that will host COP30. AID IN DECLINE Other measures to be announced include multilateral lenders automatically giving vulnerable countries the option to insert repayment break clauses into their loans in case of hurricane, drought or flood. Another buzz phrase will be a "Global SDR playbook" - a plan where the wealthiest countries rechannel the IMF's reserve-like Special Draw Rights they hold to the multilateral banks, who then leverage them as capital in order to lend more. Campaigners warn that it will fall far short of what is needed, especially as more than 130 countries now face critically high debt levels and many spend more on repayments than on health or education. Aid and support from rich countries, who themselves have rising debts, is dropping too. In March, the U.S. slashed more than 80% of programmes at its USAID agency following federal budget cuts spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk. Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden have all made cuts in recent years too. The OECD projects a 9–17% drop in net official development assistance (ODA) in 2025, following a 9% decline in 2024. It looks set to hit the poorest countries hardest: bilateral ODA to least developed countries and sub-Saharan Africa may fall by 13-25% and 16-28% respectively, the OECD estimates, and health funding could drop by up to 60% from its 2022 peak. So what would be a good outcome in Seville, especially given the U.S. pull-out? "We should make sure we are not backtracking at this point," said Orville Grey at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, referring to funding commitments. "We should at least remain stable." (Reporting by David Latona in Madrid and Marc Jones in London, additional reporting by Simon Jessop in London; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Arab News
a day ago
- Business
- Arab News
UN bids to salvage global development summit after US boycott
MADRID/LONDON: Scores of world leaders will be sweltering in the summer sun of southern Spain next week at a once-a-decade United Nations development financing summit aimed at curbing global poverty, disease and the worst-case threats of climate change. Despite the scorching temperatures, though, a major chill looms over the event – the decision early this month by the United States, traditionally the world's largest aid giver and key finance provider, not to show up. UN countries want to close a $4 trillion-a-year funding gap they now estimate prevents the developing world achieving the organization's Sustainable Development Goals that range from cutting infant death rates to minimizing global warming. Critics say the promises at the heart of the conference – called the 'Seville Commitment' – are nowhere near bold enough. The measures, agreed by consensus after a year of tough negotiations, include tripling multilateral lending capacity, debt relief, a push to boost tax-to-GDP ratios to at least 15 percent, and shifting special IMF money to countries that need it most. The run-up, however, has been marred by the US decision to withdraw over what it said was the crossing of a number of its red lines, including the push to triple development bank lending, change tax rules and the use of the term 'gender' in summit wording. The European Union only joined the summit with reservations, particularly over how debt is discussed within the UN. Speaking to reporters this week, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed described Washington's boycott as 'regrettable,' especially after its 'catastrophic' recent aid cuts that she said had cost lives and livelihoods. Speaking alongside officials from summit host Spain and Zambia, which has helped organize it, she said the final outcome document agreed reflected both 'ambition and realism' and that the UN would try to re-engage the US afterwards. Remy Rioux, chief executive officer of the French Development Agency, said Washington's withdrawal had not been a total surprise given Donald Trump's views. The hope is that agreements next week will allow bolder action at the UN climate talks in Brazil in November. 'We will push for the new framework... (and) its operationalization from Seville to Belem,' he added, referring to the Brazilian city that will host COP30. Aid in decline Other measures to be announced include multilateral lenders automatically giving vulnerable countries the option to insert repayment break clauses into their loans in case of hurricane, drought or flood. Another buzz phrase will be a 'Global SDR playbook' – a plan where the wealthiest countries rechannel the IMF's reserve-like Special Draw Rights they hold to the multilateral banks, who then leverage them as capital in order to lend more. Campaigners warn that it will fall far short of what is needed, especially as more than 130 countries now face critically high debt levels and many spend more on repayments than on health or education. Aid and support from rich countries, who themselves have rising debts, is dropping too. In March, the US slashed more than 80 percent of programs at its USAID agency following federal budget cuts spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk. Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden have all made cuts in recent years too. The OECD projects a 9 percent–17 percent drop in net official development assistance (ODA) in 2025, following a 9 percent decline in 2024. It looks set to hit the poorest countries hardest: bilateral ODA to least developed countries and sub-Saharan Africa may fall by 13-25 percent and 16-28 percent respectively, the OECD estimates, and health funding could drop by up to 60 percent from its 2022 peak. So what would be a good outcome in Seville, especially given the US pull-out? 'We should make sure we are not backtracking at this point,' said Orville Grey at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, referring to funding commitments. 'We should at least remain stable.'
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
UN bids to salvage global development summit after US boycott
MADRID/LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - Scores of world leaders will be sweltering in the summer sun of southern Spain next week at a once-a-decade United Nations development financing summit aimed at curbing global poverty, disease and the worst-case threats of climate change. Despite the scorching temperatures, though, a major chill looms over the event - the decision early this month by the United States, traditionally the world's largest aid giver and key finance provider, not to show up, opens new tab. UN countries want to close a $4 trillion-a-year funding gap they now estimate prevents the developing world achieving the organisation's Sustainable Development Goals that range from cutting infant death rates to minimising global warming. Critics say the promises at the heart of the conference - called the "Seville Commitment" - are nowhere near bold enough. The measures, agreed by consensus after a year of tough negotiations, include tripling multilateral lending capacity, debt relief, a push to boost tax-to-GDP ratios to at least 15%, and shifting special IMF money to countries that need it most. The run-up, however, has been marred by the U.S. decision to withdraw over what it said was the crossing of a number of its red lines, opens new tab, including the push to triple development bank lending, change tax rules and the use of the term "gender" in summit wording. The European Union only joined the summit with reservations, particularly over how debt is discussed within the UN. Speaking to reporters this week, U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed described Washington's boycott as "regrettable", especially after its "catastrophic" recent aid cuts that she said had cost lives and livelihoods. Speaking alongside officials from summit host Spain and Zambia, which has helped organise it, she said the final outcome document, opens new tab agreed reflected both "ambition and realism" and that the U.N. would try to re-engage the U.S. afterwards. Remy Rioux, chief executive officer of the French Development Agency, said Washington's withdrawal had not been a total surprise given Donald Trump's views. The hope is that agreements next week will allow bolder action at the UN climate talks in Brazil in November. "We will push for the new framework... (and) its operationalisation from Seville to Belem," he added, referring to the Brazilian city that will host COP30. Other measures to be announced include multilateral lenders automatically giving vulnerable countries the option to insert repayment break clauses into their loans in case of hurricane, drought or flood. Another buzz phrase will be a "Global SDR playbook" - a plan where the wealthiest countries rechannel the IMF's reserve-like Special Draw Rights they hold to the multilateral banks, who then leverage them as capital in order to lend more. Campaigners warn that it will fall far short of what is needed, especially as more than 130 countries now face critically high debt levels and many spend more on repayments than on health or education. Aid and support from rich countries, who themselves have rising debts, is dropping too. In March, the U.S. slashed more than 80% of programmes at its USAID agency following federal budget cuts spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk. Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden have all made cuts in recent years too. The OECD projects a 9–17% drop in net official development assistance (ODA) in 2025, following a 9% decline in 2024. It looks set to hit the poorest countries hardest: bilateral ODA to least developed countries and sub-Saharan Africa may fall by 13-25% and 16-28% respectively, the OECD estimates, and health funding could drop by up to 60% from its 2022 peak. So what would be a good outcome in Seville, especially given the U.S. pull-out? "We should make sure we are not backtracking at this point," said Orville Grey at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, referring to funding commitments. "We should at least remain stable."
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Explainer-What is the UN's development conference in Seville, and what can it achieve?
FILE PHOTO: World Bank President Ajay Banga attends the Milken Institute Global Conference 2025 in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 5, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Nigeria's Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, looks on during the official opening of the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, South Africa September 5, 2019. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham/File Photo Explainer-What is the UN's development conference in Seville, and what can it achieve? LONDON - Global leaders will kick off the once-a-decade Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Seville, Spain, on Monday, which aims to improve the world's aid and financial architecture. Ambitious reforms to everything from global tax to climate-focused funding are on the agenda. What is the event, who will attend, and what can it achieve? WHAT IS IT? The fourth such conference brings together political, financial and trade leaders to formulate a coherent approach to issues bedevilling global development - from aid to trade to debt. Leaders will formally adopt a 38-page document - dubbed the "Seville Commitment" - which was painstakingly negotiated and agreed prior to the event. It will be a blueprint for development financing for the coming decade, but it is a political commitment, rather than a legally binding agreement. The first FFD's "Monterrey Consensus" in 2002 produced targets for rich countries to spend 0.7% of gross national product on official development assistance and supported the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, which eventually yielded billions in debt relief. The last FFD, in Addis Ababa in 2015, produced the 17 sustainable development goals that have guided multilateral funding for the past decade, and focused attention on strengthening taxation and stemming illicit financial flows. This year's backdrop is particularly challenging, with widespread aid cuts across the rich world - and climate change scepticism from U.S. President Donald Trump. WHAT ARE THIS YEAR'S OBJECTIVES? The Seville Commitment focuses on reforms to help poor nations adapt to climate crises, such as debt swaps, natural disasters debt pause clauses and an exploration of "global solidarity levies", which could tax highly polluting activities - or the super-rich - to finance sustainable development. It also targets progress towards better debt restructuring frameworks and innovations to boost funding, such as multilateral development banks' efforts to leverage special drawing rights. Leaders will also launch the Seville Platform for Action, which would form alliances to expedite concrete progress on the goals. WHO WILL BE THERE? UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Wednesday that more than 70 heads of state and government would attend. They include French President Emmanuel Macron, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa - this year's G20 chair - and sustainable finance rock stars such as Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley. World Bank President Ajay Banga is expected, along with development bank chiefs, the Gates Foundation and other campaign groups. Notably absent, however, is the United States, which withdrew during negotiations after it tried, unsuccessfully, to strip climate, sustainability and gender equality from the Seville Commitment. WHAT IMPACT COULD IT HAVE? The U.S. absence, and continued discord over the approach to certain other issues, such as debt, could hobble the event's impact. Trump's opposition to goals such as global tax rule changes could make success on that subject tougher. Meanwhile, disagreements between African leaders and key lending nations, such as China, over a debt convention also bedevil substantive progress. But sources said the event could be more successful without U.S. attendees trying to water down objectives, and there is a strong consensus that the world must take urgent action on issues such as climate adaptation funding. WHAT IS THE BACKDROP? The U.N. pegs the global financing gap for sustainable development at a whopping $4 trillion. Multilateral lenders are working to boost funding - but the cash they have been able to mobilise thus far is in the hundreds of billions, not trillions. At the same time, the average interest costs for developing countries as a share of tax revenues nearly doubled since 2014. China's lending to Africa has turned net negative as loan repayments come due, and an estimated 3.3 billion people - and more than half of Africans - live in countries that spend more on debt than health. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Explainer: What is the UN's development conference in Seville, and what can it achieve?
LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Global leaders will kick off the once-a-decade Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Seville, Spain, on Monday, which aims to improve the world's aid and financial architecture. Ambitious reforms to everything from global tax to climate-focused funding are on the agenda. What is the event, who will attend, and what can it achieve? The fourth such conference brings together political, financial and trade leaders to formulate a coherent approach to issues bedevilling global development - from aid to trade to debt. Leaders will formally adopt a 38-page document, opens new tab - dubbed the "Seville Commitment" - which was painstakingly negotiated and agreed prior to the event. It will be a blueprint for development financing for the coming decade, but it is a political commitment, rather than a legally binding agreement. The first FFD's "Monterrey Consensus" in 2002 produced targets for rich countries to spend 0.7% of gross national product on official development assistance and supported the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, which eventually yielded billions in debt relief. The last FFD, in Addis Ababa in 2015, produced the 17 sustainable development goals that have guided multilateral funding for the past decade, and focused attention on strengthening taxation and stemming illicit financial flows. This year's backdrop is particularly challenging, with widespread aid cuts across the rich world - and climate change scepticism from U.S. President Donald Trump. The Seville Commitment focuses on reforms to help poor nations adapt to climate crises, such as debt swaps, natural disasters debt pause clauses and an exploration of "global solidarity levies", which could tax highly polluting activities - or the super-rich - to finance sustainable development. It also targets progress towards better debt restructuring frameworks and innovations to boost funding, such as multilateral development banks' efforts to leverage special drawing rights. Leaders will also launch the Seville Platform for Action, which would form alliances to expedite concrete progress on the goals. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Wednesday that more than 70 heads of state and government would attend. They include French President Emmanuel Macron, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa - this year's G20 chair - and sustainable finance rock stars such as Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley. World Bank President Ajay Banga is expected, along with development bank chiefs, the Gates Foundation and other campaign groups. Notably absent, however, is the United States, which withdrew during negotiations, opens new tab after it tried, unsuccessfully, to strip climate, sustainability and gender equality from the Seville Commitment. The U.S. absence, and continued discord over the approach to certain other issues, such as debt, could hobble the event's impact. Trump's opposition to goals such as global tax rule changes could make success on that subject tougher. Meanwhile, disagreements between African leaders and key lending nations, such as China, over a debt convention also bedevil substantive progress. But sources said the event could be more successful without U.S. attendees trying to water down objectives, and there is a strong consensus that the world must take urgent action on issues such as climate adaptation funding. The U.N. pegs the global financing gap for sustainable development at a whopping $4 trillion. Multilateral lenders are working to boost funding - but the cash they have been able to mobilise thus far is in the hundreds of billions, not trillions. At the same time, the average interest costs for developing countries as a share of tax revenues nearly doubled since 2014. China's lending to Africa has turned net negative as loan repayments come due, and an estimated 3.3 billion people - and more than half of Africans - live in countries that spend more on debt than health.
