The hot heat who has invested Seville (On 4 July the maxims reached 39 ° C) In these days it has been more than a meteorological anomaly: it has become the tangible symbol of a world that burns while its leaders, apparently, remain at home.
The fourth was held in the Andalusian city International Conference on financing of development (FFD4), the ten -year appointment of theUN to redefine tax strategies and finance global objectives related to Climate, health, education and debt. But the event, already expected with concern for the current geopolitical tensions, has consumed in a political and economic climate marked by heavy absences, reduced promises and a realism that borders on the surrender.
On the 70 appearances expected between heads of state and government, only 50 have materialized. Among the great economies of the G7, the only one who attended France with France with Emmanuel Macronwho spoke in a semi-life room next to the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The absence of key leaders – like Mia Mottley (Barbados) and Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa)both well -known supporters of a major one Climate and financial justice – has amplified the sense of disillusionment between delegates, civic organizations and observers.
Changed cuts and priorities: Cooperation in trouble
The context is not the most favorable. While rich economies face growing public debts and increase military spending, the financial statements intended for international cooperation are reduced. Washington, London, Berlin and Paris are cutting the funds to development, and even bilateral aid record a drop. As he explained Henrique Frotadirector of Abong (Brazilian Association of NGO), during the event: “We are witnessing a retreat of many of the programs that we had carried out a few years ago”.
The final document – considered by many participants as the bare minimum to avoid bankruptcy – was greeted with cautious relief. Among the highlights, the objective of increasing the ratio between taxes and GDP at least 15%, the proposal to triple the loan capacity of multilateral banks and a (almost solitary) commitment of Spain to donate 50% of their special withdrawal rights (DSP) for the most fragile countries. But The absence of the United States has weighed: “The entire community was very afraid to come here because a country was not present”, admitted Marcos Neto, deputy secretary general of the UN, referring to the Washington disengagement.
One of the most discussed points was the growing assignment on private investments to fill the financial gap left by the decline in public aid. The idea of an “innovative” finance – also supported by the platform presented in Seville – has aroused doubts among the organizations of civil society, which fear a subordination of social and environmental objectives to the interests of the markets. The deputy secretary UN Amina J. Mohammed He tried to reassure: “The resources are there, we only have to have the political will to exploit them”.
However, trust is not shared by everyone. The final document, already sweetened in some of its parts in order not to impact the geopolitical balances (including the elimination of references to climate change), has been read by many as yet another missed opportunity to deal with global inequalities in a structural way.
Where did the commitments end?
As reported by the Reuters agency, according to a study spread during the conference, the ability of developing countries to respond to climatic emergencies is undermined by an unsustainable public debt and an unfair tax system. Only 52% of these countries reach an imposed/GDP ratio of more than 15%, considered the minimum threshold to guarantee adequate public services. In addition, the promises to redistribute the DSPs by advanced countries remain largely on paper: out of 100 billion dollars promised in 2021, less than 40 were actually reassigned.
In the meantime, The impact of the climatic crisis worsens. Floods, fires, water scarcity and extreme weather events they affect the weakest economies in a disproportionate waywhich do not have funds or infrastructures to adapt. The conference should have offered answers; Instead, he highlighted a growing political void, in an increasingly oriented world towards national self -defense rather than international cooperation.
A missed watershed?
At the end of the works, José Viñals – former president of Chartered standard and today a blanket of the Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance – He tried to see the glass half full: “Ultimately the important thing is to do it. The private sector is, for the most part, still willing to follow up on its own words”.
But without a clear political signal, it is difficult to imagine a change of course. And if the Seville conference was to represent a watershed for sustainable finance, the risk is that it is remembered above all for empty chairs, a symbol of a hallway that the planet – and above all its most vulnerable inhabitants – can no longer afford.
