Failure of SDGs will be in hands of int’l community – ECLAC Director

– says Caribbean still has uphill financial task against debt

Ahead of COP28, financing for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is a topic President Dr Irfaan Ali has been very vocal on. Now, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has joined in this advocacy for the developed world to honour its pledges.
In a statement, Director of ECLAC Caribbean, Diane Quarless said the international community will be ultimately responsible if the developing world fails to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) laid out by the UN.
She made these comments in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, during a media breakfast organised by the United Nations Information Centre for the Caribbean. According to her, the international community will be ultimately responsible since they made a commitment to implement Agenda 2030, which sets benchmarks for the SDGs.

Further, the ECLAC Director noted that Caribbean countries are faced with an uphill task when it comes to overcoming burdensome debt and debt service payments, especially when one considers the exposure of these small states to loss and damage from climate change-induced natural hazards and their inadequate access to low-cost financing.
“The international community has not shown empathy to the Small Island States that have been graduated… You have a per capita income that is over a threshold that says… you are big boys now; you can stand on your own. So, you are not getting access to concessionary financing,” she was quoted as saying.
“It is not going to be a failure on us, it is going to be a failure of the global community, because it is a global commitment that has been made. This is why I spoke about intergenerational and intragenerational equity and the developed countries have a responsibility to lift the developing ones… and that lift means you provide the resources for them to achieve,” she added when asked about the possibility of not achieving the SDGs.
When it comes to addressing gaps in financing the SDGs, the Resident Coordinator for the UN system in Trinidad, Joanna Kazana also explained that the world has “more than adequate” resources to support SIDs in achieving the SDGs. Here, she pointed to the money spent on war worldwide.
“This year it is going to be almost three trillion dollars globally. We have the money, we have plenty of money, we are just spending it on activities that are completely destructive and throwing us back to the level of development that we have worked so hard to achieve. We have to change the course,” she said.
Meanwhile, UN Resident Coordinator for Jamaica, Dennis Zulu remarked that there is a sustainable development gap between the UN and world leaders and the common person. In fact, he noted that many people around the world do not know about the SDGs.
The Caribbean-focused discussion follows the recently concluded SDG Summit, and the halfway assessment point toward the 2030 Agenda. Meanwhile, the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) will be held from November 30 to December 12 and is expected to provide a platform for world leaders, Ministers and negotiators to develop solutions to address climate change and financing.
At the previous Conference of the Parties – COP27 – which was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt in December of last year, one outcome was the setting up of a climate fund for poorer and more vulnerable countries, which would constitute “loss and damage” funding.
Meanwhile, the Fourth SIDS International Conference – to be held in Antigua and Barbuda from May 27-30, 2024 – will similarly bring world leaders together to agree on a new programme that focuses on practical and impactful solutions to keep SIDS afloat and maintain a sustainable, safe future.
The SDGs include Goal 1 – No Poverty; Goal 2 – Zero Hunger; Goal 3 – Health and Wellbeing; Goal 4 – Education; Goal 6 – Potable Water, Water Sanitation and Harvesting Water; Goal 7 – Renewable Energy and Access to Energy; Goal 9 – Infrastructure Industry and Innovation; Goal 11 – Cities and Municipalities, Housing, Disaster Risk Management, and Preparedness, and Goal 17 – Means and Implementation of the SDGs.