Activists, many southern south, attend talks in Spain, call for higher leadership and commitment of richer nations to help treat long -standing structural inequalities.
Le 4th International Conference on Development Financing (FFD4) has a strong symbolic weight, reflected in the Agreed priorities of Seville’s commitment.
Paula Sevilla, International Institute of Environment and Development.
However, organizations warn that there is still a long way to go before the promises resulted in a tangible action.
Good timing
This is the message of Paula Sevilla, a representative of the International Institute for the Environment and Development (IIED) – a research center based in London – which has worked for decades on sustainability and climate justice in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
“This summit came at a crucial time to try to restore faith in international cooperation, especially after the pandemic, which exposed a lack of global solidarity,” she said.
One of the main objectives of the IIED in Seville was to ensure that the announced financial commitments really reach local communities at the forefront of the climate crisis.
To this end, the organization emphasizes the need to solve problems such as external debt – emptying public budgets – and supporting innovative mechanisms such as mixed finance to direct resources to those who need it most.
“We see that countries spend more on debt payments than for health care or education, while inequalities are deepening,” warned the expert, speaking shortly after a respectful but energetic protest in the conference center.
A place to call at home
Housing solutions related to sustainable development are notably absent from the final document of the summit.
“It is regrettable that it is not even mentioned, at a time when we are faced with a global crisis in the cost of living – not only in the world of world, but also here in Spain. Housing is a source of anxiety and distrust among citizens, and it was completely ignored, “said Ms. Sevilla.
Despite this, its organization strives to take advantage of Seville’s result to find ways to channel funding to provide more affordable houses.
Commenting on the initiative led by Spain and Brazil to work towards fair taxation and to repel tax evasion by the richest in the world – favoring more transparency and responsibility – the representative of the IIED said that it could be a useful path to correct structural inequalities.
Development tax
“” We need leadership in the world of world, where many main fiscal avoidance companies in the world are based. Without their commitment, we will not go ahead, ”she said.
She also criticized the absence of the United States of the Summit-not only as a diplomatic setback, but also as a disturbing precedent following the dismantling of her international development agency, USAID.
“We are talking about people who count their pills to understand how many days of life they have left. It’s dramatic, ”she said.
With only five years to meet the Sustainable development objectivesMs. Sevilla warned that time is exhausted – and that Seville’s commitment will be meaningless without real change.
“” We need political leadership, a desire for cooperation and a commitment to protect democratic space. In the end, they are organized people who keep hope alive and hold responsible leaders, ”concluded Sevilla.
Seville’s commitment in short:
- THE Seville engagement defines a New world roadmap To increase the thousands of dollars required each year to carry out sustainable development, based on previous international agreements
- He asks fair tax systemsreducing tax evasion and illicit financial flows, and strengthening public development banks to support national priorities
- The agreement highlights the need to New tools to facilitate debt pressures On vulnerable countries, including debt exchange plans, options to suspend payments during crises and better transparency
- Committed countries Stimulate the capacity of multilateral development banksincrease the use of special drawing rights and attract more private investment to support development
- It also aims to make the more inclusive and responsible global financial systemwith improved coordination, stronger data systems and wider participation in civil society and other
The commitment launches the Sevilla platform for action,, which includes more than 130 initiatives already underway To transform promises into real world results.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
