Funding the Sustainable Development Goals is Not a Challenge of Sufficient Capital
Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 faces a substantial funding gap, now at US$14-17 trillion annually, fuelled by global crises including the pandemic, energy shocks, and inflation. While developing countries have been most impacted, global financial assets—totalling US$653 t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Risk Institute, Trieste- Geneva
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Cadmus |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cadmusjournal.org/article/volume-5-issue-4/funding-the-sdgs-is-not-challenge-of-sufficient-capital |
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| author | Ketan Patel Christian Hansmeyer Nandan Desai Aditya Ajit |
| author_facet | Ketan Patel Christian Hansmeyer Nandan Desai Aditya Ajit |
| author_sort | Ketan Patel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 faces a substantial funding gap, now at US$14-17 trillion annually, fuelled by global crises including the pandemic, energy shocks, and inflation. While developing countries have been most impacted, global financial assets—totalling US$653 trillion with annual GDP at US$110 trillion—are theoretically sufficient to close this gap. The issue, however, is that most of these assets are either illiquid or deployed to maintain the living standards of the countries in which they are generated, to keep the lights on, or to achieve traditional profit-focused returns. Bridging this gap requires immediate and long-term capital strategies, such as deploying global wealth stocks for one-off investments and reengineering annual GDP flows to support the SDGs perpetually. Major asset holders, including households (US$534 trillion), governments (US$119 trillion), and corporations (US$179 trillion), noting some double counting, must be engaged, although much of their capital is illiquid or aligned to non-SDG objectives. Mobilizing these funds will depend on systemic changes in investment incentives, such as blended finance structures and impact investments that meet risk-adjusted returns. To generate the US$11-12 trillion annually needed by developing countries, a multi-stakeholder approach is essential, including policy reforms to encourage solutions and capital to flow to where they are most needed. Without a swift reallocation of resources, the cost of meeting the SDGs will continue to rise, risking the 2030 timeline. Addressing this alignment issue could unleash the necessary capital, enabling targeted investments in scalable, impactful solutions critical to achieving global sustainable development. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-44ca0542368e4b7f8735cc9e563bb3c7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2038-5242 2038-5250 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Risk Institute, Trieste- Geneva |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cadmus |
| spelling | doaj-art-44ca0542368e4b7f8735cc9e563bb3c72025-08-20T03:38:49ZengRisk Institute, Trieste- GenevaCadmus2038-52422038-52502025-07-015496106Funding the Sustainable Development Goals is Not a Challenge of Sufficient CapitalKetan Patel0Christian Hansmeyer1Nandan Desai2Aditya Ajit3Chairman, Force for Good; Executive Director & Trustee, World Academy of Art and Science; Co-founder, Greater Pacific Capital, UKHead of Research, Force for Good; Founding Member, Greater Pacific Capital, UKLead, Analytics & Research, Force for Good; Senior Member, Greater Pacific Capital, IndiaResearch Analyst, Force for Good; Member, Greater Pacific Capital, IndiaAchieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 faces a substantial funding gap, now at US$14-17 trillion annually, fuelled by global crises including the pandemic, energy shocks, and inflation. While developing countries have been most impacted, global financial assets—totalling US$653 trillion with annual GDP at US$110 trillion—are theoretically sufficient to close this gap. The issue, however, is that most of these assets are either illiquid or deployed to maintain the living standards of the countries in which they are generated, to keep the lights on, or to achieve traditional profit-focused returns. Bridging this gap requires immediate and long-term capital strategies, such as deploying global wealth stocks for one-off investments and reengineering annual GDP flows to support the SDGs perpetually. Major asset holders, including households (US$534 trillion), governments (US$119 trillion), and corporations (US$179 trillion), noting some double counting, must be engaged, although much of their capital is illiquid or aligned to non-SDG objectives. Mobilizing these funds will depend on systemic changes in investment incentives, such as blended finance structures and impact investments that meet risk-adjusted returns. To generate the US$11-12 trillion annually needed by developing countries, a multi-stakeholder approach is essential, including policy reforms to encourage solutions and capital to flow to where they are most needed. Without a swift reallocation of resources, the cost of meeting the SDGs will continue to rise, risking the 2030 timeline. Addressing this alignment issue could unleash the necessary capital, enabling targeted investments in scalable, impactful solutions critical to achieving global sustainable development.https://www.cadmusjournal.org/article/volume-5-issue-4/funding-the-sdgs-is-not-challenge-of-sufficient-capitalsustainable development goalsglobal financial systemdevelopment finance |
| spellingShingle | Ketan Patel Christian Hansmeyer Nandan Desai Aditya Ajit Funding the Sustainable Development Goals is Not a Challenge of Sufficient Capital Cadmus sustainable development goals global financial system development finance |
| title | Funding the Sustainable Development Goals is Not a Challenge of Sufficient Capital |
| title_full | Funding the Sustainable Development Goals is Not a Challenge of Sufficient Capital |
| title_fullStr | Funding the Sustainable Development Goals is Not a Challenge of Sufficient Capital |
| title_full_unstemmed | Funding the Sustainable Development Goals is Not a Challenge of Sufficient Capital |
| title_short | Funding the Sustainable Development Goals is Not a Challenge of Sufficient Capital |
| title_sort | funding the sustainable development goals is not a challenge of sufficient capital |
| topic | sustainable development goals global financial system development finance |
| url | https://www.cadmusjournal.org/article/volume-5-issue-4/funding-the-sdgs-is-not-challenge-of-sufficient-capital |
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