Introduction:
The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Spain in June 2025 presents a unique opportunity to align global financing mechanisms with the latest scientific advancements to address pressing global challenges. The summit’s primary focus will be mobilizing financial resources to achieve sustainable development, eradicate poverty, and enhance resilience to climate change, health crises, and technological disruptions. A Science Agenda is essential to ensure that evidence-based policies drive decision-making at the summit.
Rationale:
Integrating science into the Financing for Development (FfD) framework is critical for addressing the interconnected challenges of our time—climate change, biodiversity loss, inequality, and global health emergencies. The international community’s ability to finance solutions hinges on leveraging cutting-edge scientific knowledge to design innovative, sustainable, and equitable financial models. This Science Agenda emphasises the importance of science, technology, and innovation (STI) as key enablers in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensuring that development financing is targeted, efficient, and scalable.
Objectives:
1. Integrate Science into FfD Policies:
Ensure that FfD4 outcomes are grounded in the latest scientific evidence, particularly in climate adaptation, renewable energy, and global health, and that scientific communities are actively engaged in policy discussions.
2. Promote Science-Driven Financial Innovation:
Foster new financing mechanisms (e.g., green bonds, climate adaptation funds, and digital finance innovations) informed by scientific and technological breakthroughs, ensuring they address global challenges efficiently and equitably.
3. Support Capacity Building:
Encourage investment in STI capacity, particularly in developing countries, to ensure equitable access to scientific knowledge and technology, thus enabling all nations to contribute to and benefit from sustainable development financing.
4. Enhance Public-Private Collaboration:
Promote collaboration between governments, private sector actors, and research institutions to co-create solutions, leveraging scientific expertise and financial resources to drive development outcomes.
Key Pillars of the Science Agenda:
1. Climate Finance:
Integrating the latest scientific models on climate change impacts and mitigation strategies into financing frameworks, focusing on scaling investments in renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, and climate-resilient agriculture.
2. Health Innovation Financing:
Expanding financing mechanisms to support global health initiatives informed by advancements in genomics, vaccine development, and health system digitization, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Biodiversity and Nature-Based Solutions:
Ensuring that scientific evidence on biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services informs financial flows to protect natural capital and promote nature-based solutions for climate resilience.
4. Digital and Frontier Technologies:
Harnessing the potential of AI, big data, and blockchain to innovate financing models, improve transparency, reduce transaction costs, and increase the efficiency of development finance systems.
Expected Outcomes:
1. Evidence-Based Financing Frameworks:
The summit will result in financing frameworks grounded in scientific evidence, fostering innovation in addressing climate, health, and development challenges.
2. New Financing Mechanisms:
A series of new and enhanced financial instruments will be introduced, particularly in climate finance, health innovation, and digital transformation.
3. Strengthened Science-Policy Interface:
The summit will help institutionalize a more robust science-policy interface in development financing, promoting continuous engagement between scientific communities and policymakers.
The Science Agenda for FfD4 seeks to position science, technology, and innovation at the heart of the global financing for development dialogue. By aligning financial flows with scientific evidence and advancements, the international community can accelerate progress toward the SDGs, ensuring that development is sustainable, inclusive, and resilient in the face of future challenges.
Video will become available 10 minutes before session start
