Apply to speak or serve on the civil society Selection Committee for the President of the UN General Assembly's 29 June 2015 High-level Event on Climate Change

On 29 June 2015, the President of the United Nations General Assembly (PGA), H.E. Mr. Sam Kahamba Kutesa, will host a High-level Event on Climate Change at UN Headquarters in New York to highlight the world's leading initiatives on tackling this global challenge. Government, private sector, and civil society leaders will show that momentum is building toward an ambitious global agreement at the climate change negotiations in December 2015 in Paris.  

At the request of the Office of the President of the General Assembly, UN-NGLS is leading a process to find three speakers from civil society for the 29 June High-level Event. We invite you to share your story of successful local climate action to help inspire the world to achieve a more sustainable path, enabling economic opportunity, equality, and a healthy environment for all. 

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Post-2015 joint FfD and post-2015 session, 21-24 April -- No5: Discussion with International Financial Institutions

As reported in the Earth Negotiations Bulletin, the intergovernmental negotiations included a discussion with the International Financial Institutions. 

Mohamed Mohieldin, of the World Bank Group, discussed the paper jointly authored by the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and all of the regional development banks, on moving resources “from billions to trillions.”

As reported previously (See: World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings Address Climate Change, FfD and Post-2015 Development Agenda), at the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings it was stressed that achieving the new development agenda will require huge financial resources in the trillions of dollars. , and that the private sector must play a role in financing.  Mohieldin said the needed trillions for implementing the SDGs must comprise “more than money,” that will be found in investments, public and private, national and global, and capital and capacity...

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Post-2015 joint FfD and post-2015 session, 21-24 April — No 4: Regional positions on issues from FfD negotiating session

(based on reports from Alexandra Johns, Ida Klockmann and Jennifer Vinas-Forcade)  

Following the opening statements from the Co-facilitators of both the post-2015 negotiating and Financing for Development process (See: Next steps on Indicators, based on briefing for NGOs by Stephan Schweinfest, Director of UN Statistics Division) a number of statements were made on behalf of Regional Groups:

South Africa, on behalf of G77 and China, said that the session allowed Member States to look at the linkages between the FfD process and the post-2015 agenda. They support the holistic scope of the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration and the importance of the maintaining their balance. The Open Working Group (OWG) report would be the main basis of the Addis outcome document as it integrates means of implementation (MOIs) both as a stand-alone goal and in specific targets. He called for stronger synergies between FfD and inter-governmental negotiations (IGN) and said that the group looks forward to constructive discussions on a technology mandate...

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Post-2015 joint FfD and post-2015 session, 21-24 April — No 3: Interactive dialogue with civil society (Continued)

Nabila Nasir, on behalf of ARROW and 16 organizations under the Youth Leadership Working Group

Thank you Your Excellency and all distinguished delegates here today for giving me this opportunity to speak at this platform. My name is Nabila Nasir and I representing Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women, and 16 other organizations under the Youth Leadership Working Group. I also align with the Children and Youth Major Group. 

When I was first selected as a speaker, I thought long and hard about what I would like to convey so that as a young person living in a continent where people under 30 is the largest population in the world – I could be the mouthpiece for them. I could ask that the youth community in all of its spectrum be included in participatory and gender budgeting as well as capacity building in the policymaking cycle, in fostering global partnerships and in the process of warranting technology transfer and application. 

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Urgent deadlines

(a) 27 April deadline for May 2015 UN General Assembly interactive hearings for the Post-2015 Development Agenda

We wish to remind you that the deadline for speaking during the two full days of interactive hearings for stakeholders in informal interactive dialogue with Member States on 26-27 May at UN Headquarters in New York is 27 April. See posting: Apply to speak at the 26-27 May 2015 United Nations General Assembly interactive hearings for the Post-2015 Development Agenda

These hearings come at a particularly important time: right after the conclusion of the "stocktaking" part of the inter-governmental negotiations on post-2015, and days before the release of the zero draft,

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World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings Address Climate Change, FfD and Post-2015 Development Agenda

(Based on report by IISD Reporting Services)

The World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) addressed a range of issues including financing for development (FfD) and the post-2015 development agenda at their annual Spring Meetings, 17-19 April 2015, in Washington DC.

Addressing the Spring Meetings, the UN Secretary-General emphasized that financing will be key for creating and unveiling an ambitious post-2015 development agenda and that the public and private sectors will need to cooperate to create incentives and regulatory frameworks to encourage long-term sustainable development.  He also called for “a paradigm shift in financing sustainable development.”...

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Post-2015 joint FfD and post-2015 session, 21-24 April — No 3: Interactive dialogue with civil society

Statement by Jennifer Vinas-Forcade, Alianza Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Juventudes (LAC Youth Alliance), Post 2015 Intergovernmental Negotiations, April 23^rd

Good morning. On behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Youth Alliance as part of the Youth Leadership Working Group, I am grateful for this opportunity. 

It was not easy to prepare a statement for this week’s negotiations. After all, what are we really talking about when we speak of “implementation”? And when we use terms like “partnerships”, “empowerment”, “participation”, “investment”, a “transformative” and “universal” agenda? The overuse of these UN jargon “keywords” has turned them into “buzzwords”, emptying them of meaning...

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Post-2015 joint FfD and post-2015 session, 21-24 April – No 2: Opening statements

The joint FfD and post-2015 session was opened on 21 April by Co-facilitator, Ambassador David Donoghue, who stressed its importance within the overall project. The two processes must work together with two headline adjectives, namely ‘universal’ and ‘ambitious’. ‘Universal’ included the recognition of different nationalities and capacities, while ‘ambitious’ should be tempered with realism. Ambition should be considered in the context of sustainable development and a universal agenda, and Member States should be willing to back up political will with real changes. There should be a willingness to mobilize all stakeholders, including ordinary citizens, in a comprehensive agenda. 

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Next steps on Indicators, based on briefing for NGOs by Stephan Schweinfest, Director of UN Statistics Division

On Monday 20 April  Stephan Schweinfest, Director of the UN Statistics Division (UNSD), accompanied by Francesca Perucci gave a briefing for NGOs.

First Francesca Perucci spoke on the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to the sustainable development goals (SDG) indicators, including the work of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group (IAEG).

Recapping on the outcome of the political negotiations in March on the approval of the Statistical Commission roadmap, it should be noted that the Statistical Commission is in charge of the process. It is therefore a technical, not a political process. They also require more time than originally thought and are aiming at a draft by Dec 2015. 

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Statements on gender equality in Second drafting session for the Addis Conference on FfD and the ECOSOC high-level meeting on sustainable development

As stated previously (See: Second drafting session for the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) – day 5) a cross-regional statement was made by Switzerland on behalf of over 30 countries, highlighting the importance of integrating gender equality and women’s empowerment strongly in every section of the FfD3 outcome.

In addition, a statement, including a strong reference to gender equality, was made by Sweden in the ECOSOC high-level meeting on sustainable development.