Globally, developing countries need an estimated US$4 trillion to fund their development agenda. To close this financing gap, countries in Asia and the Pacific meeting this week at a United Nations forum called for closer alignment between national efforts and the recently adopted Sevilla Commitment, which was the latest global strategy to mobilize investment at scale for sustainable development. In this regard, ESCAP is poised to facilitate regional follow-up to the Sevilla Commitment in line with the outcomes of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development. 

The Asia-Pacific region has made “tremendous development progress over the past few decades,” with falling poverty levels, rising standards of living and resilience in the fact of recent shocks, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana said. But governments now need “macroeconomic policy frameworks that duly integrate climate factors, and better access to affordable, long-term development financing” to secure sustained economic prosperity. 

With external challenges buffeting their traditional export-led, labour-intensive economic development approach, delegates at the Fifth Session of the Committee on Macroeconomic Policy, Poverty Reduction and Financing for Development highlighted the potential of emerging clean-technology industries to drive the next phase of economic growth. Given their strong renewable energy capacity and competitive production costs, economies in Asia and the Pacific are well-positioned to broaden their modern manufacturing base, create local jobs and meet rising international demand for goods and services that support environmental action.

Several developing countries in the region are already facing tight fiscal positions, with interest payments exceeding tax revenues in certain cases, highlighting the urgency of addressing growing development financing gaps. 

Discussions at the Committee stressed the importance of integrating climate considerations into fiscal and monetary policies to strengthen economic stability and protect gains. To support long-term shared prosperity, countries underscored that economic cooperation must be strengthened, with integrated regional markets and stable regional mechanisms enhancing resilience across Asia and the Pacific amid protectionist headwinds.