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Financing for sustainable development needs institutional and policy reform but the real cost of (un-)sustainable development remain vague
Ulrich Graute • 6 April 2021
Would you mind or do you even like reading reports on financing for sustainable development? It may not be easy especially for non-experts in finances but it certainly can be interesting and revealing. After all, financing for sustainable development doesn't depend on financial experts alone. Everybody interested in sustainable development should keep an eye on finances to assure that all necessary aspects are addressed appropriately. This post is a small contribution to the necessary dialogue on the subject.
Right in time for the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group the United Nations Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development launched the Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2021 (FSDR 2021). The report is a lot about investments, their financing but also the need to improve the enabling environment including the reform of policies and institutions. Financial experts love numbers but what you won’t find in the report are updated estimates on the cost (money, lives and other resources) for both cases, achieving the SDGs by 2030 and non-compliance with the SDGs by that date. So, we still don’t know exactly what is at stake. However, the report calls for immediate action to avoid a lost decade for many.
Immediate action: Financing sustainable development in times of COVID-19
The Secretary-General of the United Nations states in his foreword that the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically set back progress on sustainable development, exposing and exacerbating inequalities among peoples and countries. According to the report
“… the focus must remain on containing the pandemic and addressing its socio-economic fallout for all. There is a grave danger of a sharply diverging world—with one group of countries recovering on the back of strong stimulus measures and digital acceleration, and many others sinking deeper into a cycle of poverty, hunger, unsustainable debt and austerity—potentially facing another lost decade of sustainable development and failing to achieve the SDGs. Preventing this scenario must be a foremost priority in global recovery efforts.
The 2021 Financing for Sustainable Development Report of the Inter-agency Task Force focuses on this urgency and calls for:
- Meeting ODA commitments and providing fresh concessional financing for developing countries, especially Least developed Countries (LDCs), along with replenishing the capital of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) as needed; sustaining a high level of positive net flows at highly concessional terms to International Development Association IDA-eligible countries through a successful replenishment of IDA20; Fully funding the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, to ensure rapid and equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics;
- Provision of a new allocation of Special Drawing Rights (along with voluntary use of SDRs of countries in strong external positions to help countries most in need) in support of liquidity for developing countries to fight COVID-19 and its economic/social fallout; an extension of the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative as circumstances demand; and debt treatments from official bilateral and commercial creditors for countries with unsustainable debt levels or protracted financing gaps.”
(Source: Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2021, page xiii)
Governance reform: Financing sustainable development requires an institutional and policy reform plus a strengthening of multilateralism
The Secretary-General makes in his foreword an interesting remark on the framework for sustainable development: “Investment alone, however, is not enough. To address the systemic nature of global risks including climate change and pandemics, we must reform our institutional and policy architecture, strengthen multilateralism, and create new platforms and networks for global cooperation.” (page iv)
In chapter 6 on Global governance and policy coherence the report points to the need to increase the coherence and consistency of the international monetary, financial and trading systems: “Building on the Monterrey Consensus, the Addis Agenda calls for coherence across a broader range of policy areas, including investment, development policy, and environment institutions and platforms. The deeper coordination that is now needed covers additional areas, such as tax, competition, and non-economic issues such as climate change, disaster risk, human rights, gender and migration.” (page 154)
In addition, it briefly points to the need that national policy makers ensure a coherent policy mix to achieve the SDGs (page 154). Good governance and accountable institutions are highlighted as key for designing and implementing coherent policies for achieving the SDGs. What that could mean is described for instance in chapter III.G for the field of science, technology, innovation (STI) and capacity-building. According to the report STI development and implementation play an essential role in addressing increasingly complex and unpredictable threats in a globally interdependent world – beyond the immediate COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, it is stated that diverse fields of scientific knowledge contribute directly and indirectly to building resilient societies. These and other references to non-economic aspects are interesting but they may be selective and not comprehensive. In addition, COVID-19 is an example of an emerging issue which dramatically increases the cost while it has dramatically set back the progress on sustainable development. It would be interesting if and, if yes, future dynamic developments can and are factored in.
The cost: Cost of sustainable development and of doing nothing
Considering the many goals and targets of the interrelated and dynamic web of SDGs it is plausible that it is challenging to estimate the full cost in for the 2030 Agenda implementation. Nonetheless, political decision-making often circles around the cost for planned activities and around the cost of not reacting to needs. Not having an updated estimation of cost risks that needs will be either not addressed at all or that they are not addressed appropriately. And financing for sustainable development becomes merely a matter of trial and error.
There is a tiny little subchapter on ‘the cost of doing nothing’ (page 16). There it is stated e.g. that in human development terms, the “cost on climate change is prohibitive” and that investments in prevention, risk reduction and resilience are a prerequisite for sustainable development (page 17). I like the message that ‘decision-making at all levels must become risk-informed’. However, this chapter is somewhat a lost opportunity because it doesn’t tell the full truth on the cost of doing nothing.
With respect to climate change there is the internationally agreed goal to limit the increase of the temperature on earth by 2 respectively by 1,5 degrees and what that would mean for the climate in the different regions of the world. That’s something governments and the public can talk about. In case of the SDGs there is nothing similar. The SDGs with their targets promise a better life but why isn’t there an estimation of the overall, economic, social and environmental costs for the case of non-compliance? These costs (finances, lives, other resources etc) could be estimated for different possible scenarios but having them would help to imagine what we’re talking about when it comes to SDG implementation and necessary reforms institutional and policy reform.
I recommend reading the report or to scan through and to get a taste of the challenge of financing sustainable development. Maybe you’ll conclude like me that not all answers on pending questions can be expected from financial experts alone. Instead, it needs the contributions by national development experts, urban and rural planners and many other sector experts to get a full picture on costs and financing opportunities. In that case the FSDR 2021 is an excellent starter.
Policies and Governance for Resilient and Sustainable Cities and Regions
It was a tremendous privilege in my life to meet Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter for the first time in 1984 (picture) and then again in the summer of 1985 during my internship at Koinonia Farm near Americus, Georgia (USA). Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th president of the U.S. from 1977 to 1981, died on December 29, 2024, at his home in Plains, Ga. Jimmy Carter was a lifelong farmer who worked with his hands building houses for the poor well into his 90s. I didn't agree with him on all issues (the early 1980s were the time of a new US missile deployment in Germany ordered by Jimmy Carter and a large peace movement against it) but he took the time to discuss it with me and others at Koinonia Farm. That alone was amazing. Even more mind-blowing was that he continued hands-on work on peacebuilding and house renovation for the poor around the world with Habitat for Humanity International well into his 90s. If in my career providing hands-on support became more important than climbing my own career path, this was also due to the example Jimmy Carter gave in the decades after his Presidency. I learned a lot from him about working for peace with humbleness, love, and perseverance. Read more in the New York Times about why Jimmy Carter was known as much for his charity and diplomatic work later in life as he was for his single presidential term, which ended in 1981. https://lnkd.in/d9qxSmTM *. *. *. *. * Note: This post was first published on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/graute_learning-to-work-hands-on-for-peace-from-activity-7279396908270309376-BBjV?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
In 2024, for the first time since 2000, the Parties to the United Nations Rio Conventions on biodiversity, climate change, and desertification faced a very busy 3 months, moving from large Conferences of Parties (COP) in Cali (Colombia) for biodiversity in October to Baku (Azerbaijan) for climate in November to Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) for desertification in December. On top of this Triple-COP, there was the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and the UN Summit of the Future in September in New York (USA) while UN-Habitat held its World Urban Forum in Cairo (Egypt), and let’s not forget the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-5) which ended last weekend in Busan, South Korea. No real breakthroughs were reported but I noticed many promises to double future efforts. There is a lot that can be critically reviewed about the events, eg what’s the purpose of moving approximately 100.000+ delegates, UN staffers, and other participants worldwide if the necessary political will to agree and resources available are insufficient and the outcomes are limited accordingly? But such a critique would be a bit unfair since I don’t know how many new ideas and initiatives were born during those official meetings, side events, and informal chats that might bloom up in upcoming years despite of the multicrises we’re living in. What needs to be criticized is that the UN System is not progressing on its task to implement its many mandates more “synergistically” by targeting policies, programs, and initiatives to jointly address the goals of the Rio Conventions, SDGs, etc. Instead, the conferences referred to each other but worked mainly within their silos. This is not appropriate in a world full of interrelations and interdepensies. Well, no individual or group can follow up on every aspect, and swarm intelligence of conferences with thousands of participants each seems to be no functioning alternative. But what else could be done? To give an example: How about building an AI-based Large Language Model (LLM) trained with the UN Charter, all UN declarations, national and subnational resolutions, regulations, and programmes? AI Agents for the different conventions and agendas should then be asked to coordinate and propose “synergistic” proposals across policy levels. Of course, the use of artificial intelligence should be wisely supervised by a team of AI experts and professionals from all affected fields. I wouldn’t expect AI applications to solve all problems but to better inform decision-makers and UN agencies on integrated scenarios. This could help to increase efficiency, avoid duplicating efforts, and increase the overall problem-solving capacity of the UN. I would be happy to support such work with my governance and development experience across all policy levels. Picture source: https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/cop-nature-climate-adaptation-mitigation
Since the first climate COP in 1995, the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency has been representing local and regional governments at the processes under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The LGMA also represents ISOCARP - International Society of City and Regional Planners and Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments. ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability acts as the Focal Point of LGMA. The 2015 Paris Agreement marked a turning point, recognizing the essential role of these governments in enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions NDSs and driving transformative climate action. The LGMA is atively present in Baku with a robust agenda, numerous partners, and an esteemed delegation of political leaders representing local and subnational governments. At the center of the presence is the Multilevel Action & Urbanization Pavilion as the global stage for the city and region climate agenda during COP29. The Pavilion brings into focus not only the challenges and needs, but also the accomplishments and commitments of local and subnational actors on climate action. The Pavilion is open from 12 to 22 November in the Blue Zone, Area E, Pavilion I15. We are looking forward to welcoming you at the High-Level Opening on 12 November at 10:00 AM. Please find the agenda of LGMA attached. Please visit also the Youtube channel of ICLEI Global for daily updates https://lnkd.in/dddDCKtA Ulrich Graute - ISOCARP Online Delegate at COP29 and Chair of the ISOCARP Scientific Committee
Report on the Urban Conversation on Ethical Use of AI in Urban Planning at the 60th World Planning Congress in Siena, Italy on 11 OCTOBER 2024
Date: 11 October 2024 Time: 10:45 - 13:15 Room: Accademie. Fisiocritici Session background and a short description of the Content Cities form the heart of human development and innovation, with 80% of global GDP generated within them and according to the United Nations approximately 56% of the world’s population now live in cities, and likely to reach nearly 70% by 2050. At the same time, the urban world is on a journey to revitalize cities, build new cities for growing populations, to dismantle inequalities, and to create a sustainable urban legacy for future generations. The growth and demands of cities are rapidly changing and looking (or exploring) for new systems and planning tools. In this situation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides a transformative potential in managing and planning cities. It can support, analyze, and predict the impact of policy changes, demographic shifts and development plans. AI facilitates a valuable foundation for productive dialogue and constructive debate between municipal authorities, and the public and private sector. AI enables the People-focused city through systems integration and collaborations. Simultaneously, the application of generative AI in the public domain brings a number of risks and pitfalls. To assure an ethical use of the new wave of innovation in planning it is necessary to strike a careful balance between risk mitigation and harnessing its capabilities for public good and resilience. The central concept of modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the intelligent agent. As of today, we have limitations to building one general-purpose AI program that does everything, instead AI developers build different types of agent programs for different types of problems and contexts. AI researchers agree that the new wave of innovation will impact all spheres of life and require more actors for future developments of AI. The discussion on the use of AI cannot be left alone to IT programmers and code developers. In this context, the objective of the conversation is to bring together planning practitioners and experts from city-making to discuss the use and potential impact of AI in urban planning and management and the related leadership of ISOCARP in the global dialogue on AI governance and capacity building of planners. Recent examples eg from Australia and Saudi Arabia will be presented along with panel discussions. Session Organizers Dr Ulrich Graute, Chair of the ISOCARP Scientific Committee, Berlin Dr Sunil Dubey, The UNSW Cities Institute, Sydney. 1. Introduction to the theme of the session by Ulrich Graute 2. The making of inclusive, prosperous and sustainable cities and the new challenges and opportunities provided by AI and Data 2.1 The case of Australia - Key note by Dr Sarah Hill, CEO Greater Sydney Commission and Western Parkland City Authority (New South Wales Govt, former) ‘Planning New Cities and Inclusive economic development’ - Western Sydney Aerotropolis – Australia’s 22nd Century City Making through Community, Creativity and Innovation. 2.2 The case of Saudi Arabia (10 min) Progress, Peace & Prosperity 2030 – How Saudi Cities are transforming using data and power of Ai. Dr Sunil Dubey 3. Roundtable Moderation: Ulrich Graute Guiding questions include AI in Urban Planning: Navigating the Intersection of Technology and Values – AI as a technical tool and/or as co-pilot in planning New Cities and inclusive economic development. Including AI in existing planning systems and processes and the requirement eg of a regulatory framework and capacity-building. What shape will AI have on future cities? ISOCARP and the new wave of technological innovation. Panelists: Sarah Hill, Executive Project Director (Public Investment Fund PIF, Saudi Arabia) Eric Huybrecht, Congress Director ISOCARP’s 60th WPC, Institute Paris Region Elisabeth Belpaire, ISOCARP President-Elect Ulrich Graute, Chair of ISOCARP SciCom Sunil Dubey, Smart Cities thought leader. Website of the 60th ISOCARP World Planning Congress https://isocarp.org/activities/60th-wpc-siena-2024/ Website of the Academy of Social Sciences (UK) AI in urban planning: risks and opportunities https://acss.org.uk/publications/ai-in-urban-planning-risks-and-opportunities/
Privacy Communicting with AI raises privacy concerns A CV is personal documents including private information you may not want to share with everybody. Therefore, the sending of your CV to somebody (eg as part of an application or business offer) is usually considered as confidential. Using generative AI, for instance ChatGPT, to work on your CV, website or LinkedIn profile should be carefully considered because the info you share about yourself with ChatGPT stays with ChatGPT even if you delete it from your account after you finished your conversation. Nonetheless, I decided to take it easier using AI because my profile and CV is no secret in anyway. Through dozens of publications since the 1990s, speeches at many conferences worldwide, as blogger with an own website (www.ugraute.de) and a LinkedIn profile with close to 6000 followers you can find everything what’s written in my CV somewhere on the internet. And, most importantly, I carefully review everything that AI suggests to me, I review and finalize texts before I use them. While I cannot fully exclude misuse of information, the responsibility for the content of my website and CV remains with me. And I still use a CV version not aided by AI for business offers and applications. AI as a second eye - When should you consider using AI to review your CV and profile? After 16 years of mostly (but not only) working for the United Nations I am now shifting more attention beyond the UN to the private sector, national and local authorities, other international organizations, NGOs etc. All UN agencies have their own mandates, interests and priorities. As UN staffer and later as UN consultant I learnt the rules of the institution and lived with the limitations they generate for management and goal achievement. However, the UN, with its historical baggage of countless mandates, inadequate structures and resources and some overly cautious employees, at times stands in its own way. I want to continue supporting global cooperation using my global perspective, my skills in project and program management, cross-cultural communication, policy analysis and stakeholder cooperation. However, it is time to refocus and look at my skills and achievements from a different, a non-UN perspective. This is where AI comes into play as an additional opportunity to support the reorientation of my or your career. AI supports my own reflections on my interests and strategy and it does it in a very inspirational way. I recommend the same to others but, if possible, it should be only an opportunity in addition to exchange with friends, colleagues, books, trainers, coaches etc. How did I use Chat GPT to review my website and CV? ChatGPT is a conversational tool, and it’s for free in its basic version. You can login here: https://chatgpt.com/auth/login. After opening an account and login you find a box where you can enter you question (called prompt). You push Enter and get an answer within seconds. If the answer is not inspirational, correct or satisfying you just go on submitting a new or modified prompt. This way conversations with ChatGPT becomes conversational and easy. In this process ChatGPT gets to know you better and learns from your prompts. Prompting, ie formulating the right questions is key to get useful answers out of the conversation and it’s worth to spend some time training how to prompt. In my case, an earlier prompt submitted to ChatGPT had produced already this suggestion: “Adjust your communication style to match the language and expectations of non-UN clients, avoiding overly technical or UN-specific jargon.” That was the point when ChatGPT confirmed my own guess that I have to change communication when I look beyond the UN world. To further explore this, I submitted additional prompts including this one: “ChatGPT, please rewrite my CV in a style more appealing to private companies.” The answer after my own review and fine tuning produced the short CV version which you can find here: https://www.ugraute.de/bio-and-cv Could I have produced this without AI? Of course, I have produced two pages versions of my CV on my own. The point is, that many things which are super important at the UN as “ an animal of its own kind ” are not so relevant outside of the UN. In such situations it may take a lot of time to decide what to leave in and what to take out of your CV. A second eye like AI proposing specific cuts and a repackaging can be very inspirational and helpful to get a fresh and crispier look at your own experience and credentials. I also liked very much that ChatGPT explained its approach to me: “To make your CV more appealing to private companies, I'll focus on making the language more dynamic, emphasizing your key achievements, leadership roles, and strategic impact. I'll also streamline the format for clarity and brevity.” Of course, I reviewed the suggested version of my CV and other website texts revised by AI to confirm the correctness of the content. Overall, this review exercise is a test to use a new technical tool. It is certainly inspirational. Success remains to be seen but that is also the case when I review my CV for an application or if I review my website in a traditional way. I decided for an open approach to use AI and to talk about my personal experience in this post, because in this new wave of innovation, we are all learners and can help each other. As adviser, I like to share, teach, and keep learning, inside or outside of the UN.
Figure: Human-in-the-loop intervention. ‘The Ethical Concerns of Artificial Intelligence in Urban Planning’ Thomas W. Sanchez, Marc Brenman, and Xinyue Ye (2024)
Human Compatible - AI and the Problem of Control
A slide from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) presented at the opening of HLPF highlights that only 17% of the SDG targets are on track
Background and Objectives The Gerd Albers Award (GAA) is celebrating inspiring publications such as books and essays. It was established in 1999 in honor of Professor Gerd Albers, a co-founder and past president of ISOCARP, who placed a particular emphasis on the task of publishing as a means of elucidating both the current debate and practical achievements in the planning field. This reputable award is given for the high-quality academic publications written by ISOCARP members. Eligible entries Pertinent submissions include the following publications by ISOCARP members published in the period between July 1, 2023, and June 31, 2024: • Books and/or Book chapters • Journal articles • Published project reports Exhibition catalogues and/or unpublished reports are ineligible. Unpublished journal articles are eligible if the publisher’s acceptance letter is attached to the article submitted. Evaluation criteria Content: • Thematic introduction • Contribution to discussions on the topic • Consistence and coherence (conceptual background, methodological approach) • Target audience Design: • Clarity • Technical requirements • Production Language All languages are eligible, although the “official languages” of the Society are English, French, German, and Spanish. Non-English entries must have an extended abstract in English (min. 3 pages). Jury The jury consists of three members of the ISOCARP Scientific Committee and the A&P Program Director. The deliberations and votes of the jury are confidential. Prof. Sebnem Hoskara Dr. Ulrich Graute Dr. Dorota Kamrowska-Załuska Prof. Ali A. Alraouf (A&P Program Director) Substance of the Award The Award is bestowed in three categories: GAA ‘Best Book’, GAA ‘Best Article’ and Special Mention. The Award winners are announced during the official ceremony at the ISOCARP annual World Planning Congress. GAA ‘Best Book’ and GAA ‘Best Article’ get two years of free membership to ISOCARP, official ISOCARP award certification and its dissemination through the ISOCARP website, social media and newsletter. Special Mention gets an official ISOCARP award certification and its dissemination through the ISOCARP website, social media and newsletter. Who is eligible? • Scholars • Writers • Book Authors • Researchers • Urban and City Critics • Professors and Academics Prize • Recognition at the ISOCARP 60th Congress in Siena at the Awards Special Session. • Certificate. • ISOCARP Medal. • Waiving form the registration for a single representative of the winners. • One year Membership at ISOCARP for a single representative of the winners. Registration fee 150 Euros for each entry in the Best Book Award (a candidate can apply with multiple proposals). 50 Euros for each entry in the Best Paper Award (a candidate can apply with multiple proposals). Submission material ⦁ Contribution (book/chapter/article) in pdf format Application procedure 1. Submit your online application https://isocarp.org/gerd-albers-award-2024-submission-form/ 2. Pay the registration fee: 150 Euros for Best Book Award and 50 Euros for Best Paper Award 3. Please, send your application to Ali Alraouf, ISOCARP Board member (alialraouf@isocarp.org) and ISOCARP HQ (awards@isocarp.org). Kindly specify the email subject: GAA 2024 Candidature. Deadline for submission August 15, 2024 Submit your application here https://isocarp.org/gerd-albers-award-2024-submission-form/