This July, the fourth Ukraine Recovery Conference highlighted the importance of empowering women to lead Ukraine’s reconstruction. But translating this into real-world achievements requires investment and political will. Here are three priorities for development partners. Continue reading Women in Ukraine’s Reconstruction: Policy Priorities after URC2025
Catalytic technical assistance can improve the underlying market conditions for private investment in sustainable development. Continue reading How catalytic technical assistance can help unlock development finance
The Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC-3) made a clear case for putting the ocean at the centre of the sustainable development agenda. While this should be celebrated, much work remains to translate UNOC-3’s achievements into real accomplishments. Continue reading The Third UN Ocean Conference: Reflections and the road ahead
By Harald Hirschhofer and Ugo Panizza
At COP29 in November, negotiators agreed to triple annual financing for developing countries from USD 100 billion to USD 300 billion by 2035. The challenge is that even if this ambitious target is met— a big “if” given the declining political commitment to official development assistance (ODA)—it will still fall short of the resources needed to scale up climate and SDG financing while ensuring debt sustainability.
Continue reading “To make ODA fit for the future, focus on currency risk “
Desertification, land degradation and droughts (DLDD) often go overlooked compared to other global crises linked to climate change or biodiversity loss, yet they devastate ecosystems, livelihoods and food security for billions worldwide. As policymakers gather in Riyadh from 2 to 11 December 2024 for the sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), this is an important opportunity to raise ambitions, scale up resources and strengthen global co-operation to tackle these challenges. Continue reading Financing the Fight Against Desertification
How can we build a more effective multilateral development system to tackle global challenges? This question was central to the OECD Multilateral Development Finance Week (23-29 September 2024), which brought together experts from 14 different countries to discuss how multilateral organisations can adapt to new mandates and the changes in global development finance approaches. Continue reading Reforming multilateral development co-operation in a changing world
By Jorge Moreira da Silva, Director of the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate and Pascal Saint-Amans, Director, OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration
Should projects financed by foreign aid be subject to tax? Historically, donors have claimed tax exemptions on most projects funded by Official Development Assistance (ODA), reasonably arguing this would maximise the impact of ODA, not least by sparing these projects from the perceived hazards of high taxes, lack of transparency and corrupt or inefficient government institutions. However, these assumptions have been increasingly challenged in recent years. Many developing countries have made strides in improving their tax systems, simplifying regimes, professionalising administration and reducing the burden of compliance.
Continue reading “Why we need greater transparency on how aid is taxed”
By Sony Kapoor, CEO of the Nordic Institute for Finance, Technology and Sustainability (NIFTYS) and Chair of Re-Define
The humanitarian, moral and economic case for development aid has been made eloquently and does not bear repeating. But the stark, ongoing highly inequitable impact of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, both of which hurt poor and developing economies the most, has turbocharged the case for more aid and now. However, present levels of aid languish at 0.32% of GDP, or $161.2 billion, less than half the promised amount of 0.7% of GDP. This commitment needs to be at least doubled, but despite the OECD call for a “massive expansion of aid” countries such as the UK are cutting, rather than increasing aid.
Continue reading “Frontloading finance can save lives, tackle climate change and generate real impact”
By Jorge Moreira Da Silva, Director, Development Co-operation Directorate, and Mags Gaynor, Senior Policy Analyst, OECD
Where OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) member countries have been through a process of integration, amalgamation or merger, they have shared with us their lessons both in real time and with hindsight. As a result, we have been able to reflect on the integration and merger experiences of a number of members in their recent peer reviews, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand and have a historical perspective on how restructuring and integration processes worked in countries such as France, Ireland, Japan, Korea and the United States. More generally, we do regular peer reviews of the 30 members of the DAC which give us the benefit of seeing strengths, opportunities, risks and challenges that members experience with their institutional arrangements and reform processes. We hear how institutional arrangements are experienced both internally and externally, including by partner country governments. Eight main observations can be drawn from these reviews.
Continue reading “Integrations, amalgamations and mergers: Lessons from institutional reforms in development co-operation”
By Jorge Moreira da Silva, Director of the Development Co-operation Directorate, OECD, and Jorge Chediek, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for South-South Co-operation and Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)
Triangular co-operation is when actors from both developing and developed countries come together, often with international organisations, civil society and private sector partners, to deliver innovative and co-created development solutions. A niche issue for many years, it is now taking centre stage in the global discourse.
Continue reading “The coming of age of triangular co-operation”
