The UN stated that sustainable economic revolution is necessary to bridge the growing development gap between nations, achieve climate targets, and carry out the Sustainable Development Goals
In order to speed transformations, notably in the provision of power, industry, farming, transportation, and structures, urgent, large expenditures are required, according to the 2023 Finance for Sustainable Development Report: Financing Sustainable Transformations.
The UN today declared that a sustainable industrial transformation is required to close the widening development gap between countries, meet climate targets, and accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals. This is in light of the growing food and energy crises, the uncertain global economic outlook, and the escalating effects of climate change.
“Without the means to invest in sustainable development and transform their energy and food systems, developing countries are falling even further behind," United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in the foreword to the report. “A two-track world of haves and have-nots holds clear and obvious dangers for every country. We urgently need to rebuild global cooperation and find the solutions to our current crises through multilateral action.”
Some of the required improvements, according to the research, are already happening. A record $1.1 trillion was invested in the global energy transition in 2022 as a result of the energy crisis brought on by the war in Ukraine. Investments in the energy transition system overtook those in the fossil fuel system for the first time in 2022, but largely exclusively in China and wealthy nations.
Unlike their industrialised counterparts, the majority of developing countries do not have the resources for investment, according to the 2023 Finance for Sustainable Development Report. The majority of poor nations are under extreme budgetary pressure as a result of factors like climate change, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, and debt payments that are up to two times greater than in 2019. This inhibits their capacity to make investments in long-term change.
For instance, post-pandemic recovery spending in industrialised nations in 2020 and 2021 was $12,200 per person. This was 610 times more expensive than the least developed countries ($20) and 30 times more expensive than emerging countries ($410).
“Without delivering a reformed international financial system while scaling up investments in the SDGs, we will not deliver on our shared commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” said United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. “The good news is that we know what to do and how to do it. From launching critical transformations in energy, food and education to ushering in a new green industrial and digital age—we all must quicken the pace and leave no one behind.”
According to the report, industrialisation has traditionally been a catalyst for progress, resulting in economic expansion, the creation of new jobs, the advancement of technology, and a decrease in poverty. The research urges the development of a new generation of integrated national planning-based sustainable industrial strategies to scale up investments and lay the groundwork for the necessary reforms. Manufacturing, green energy, and agroindustry all present several chances for inclusive growth.
The recent technology's quick development suggests that the shift to sustainable industrialisation and growth could happen just as quickly. A total of 338 million more people utilised the Internet frequently between 2021 and 2022, or around 38,600 more people every hour. Also, 44 per cent of all businesses are exporters in areas with high-quality connected connections, compared to only 19 per cent of businesses in areas with subpar Internet connectivity.
The 2023 Finance for Sustainable Development Report calls for a combination of bolstering tax systems, enabling and catalysing private investment, scaling up international public investment, and development cooperation to generate the resources required for this change. To raise enough money, changes to the global financial system are also required.