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India urged the international community to adopt concrete, time-bound measures and establish a dedicated global facility to support Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) financing, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr. P. K. Mishra said today at the Ministerial Roundtable on DRR Financing in Geneva. He praised the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and its partners for convening the discussion and acknowledged Brazil and South Africa for sustaining global dialogue through their G20 presidencies.

Dr. Mishra told delegates that financing for disaster risk reduction bears directly on a country’s ability to protect development gains as climate and disaster threats grow. He noted that, in India’s early years, Finance Commission allocations for DRR amounted to only INR 60 million (approximately USD 0.7 million). Today, outlays under the 15th Finance Commission top INR 2.32 trillion (around USD 28 billion). “Over time, India has transformed DRR financing from a reactive measure into a planned, predictable framework,” he said, explaining that the Disaster Management Act of 2005 laid the groundwork for rule-based fund transfers from national authorities down to states and districts.

According to Dr. Mishra, India’s approach rests on ensuring that budgets cover preparedness, mitigation, relief, and recovery in one integrated flow of funds. He emphasized that the needs of vulnerable communities remain at the forefront of allocation decisions. He added that, by making resources accessible at every level—central, state, and local—the government ensures timely assistance for all affected areas. “We have built accountability and transparency into every stage of expenditure, so outcomes can be measured and lessons learned applied,” he explained.

Dr. Mishra stressed that while each country must design a financing system suited to its governance, fiscal context, and risk profile, guidance from global benchmarks is essential. He said: “Countries need to take ownership of DRR financing, while benefiting from technical support and experience sharing. At the same time, international cooperation can help mobilize resources that go beyond traditional public finance.”

He proposed that risk-pooling arrangements, insurance schemes, and other innovative tools be developed in line with local fiscal capacity, noting that these instruments can complement public budgets without imposing unsustainable debt burdens. “It is not enough to wait for disasters and then allocate funds; we need a mix of financial instruments that can smooth the impact of shocks,” he argued.

At the global level, Dr. Mishra observed that no dedicated international mechanism currently exists to help countries set up or strengthen DRR financing frameworks. He called for the creation of a global facility under the UN system and in partnership with multilateral development banks, one that would provide catalytic funding, technical assistance, and a platform for knowledge exchange. “Such a facility would help countries move from intent to action with clear, time-bound milestones,” he said.

“The international financial architecture is outdated and ineffective and we are simply not equipped to take on a wide range of emerging issues,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres briefed on 12 September, as part of a global call for action to support the Summit.

The issue of sustainable development and financing for development is a core theme of the flagship event, which begins on 22 September, reflecting an urgent global situation for many poor countries facing unsustainable levels of debt that are crippling key areas for development, such as social protection and health care.

Targets missed

The need for reform has been given added urgency by the rapidly approaching deadline to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals which make up the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, created to set out measurable targets for building a better future by the end of the decade.

The Goals were adopted by UN Member States in 2015, which means that in 2023 the halfway point was reached. The milestone was marked at last September’s SDG Summit, which was designed to give the Goals a much-needed shot in the arm, at a time when official UN statistics showed that only 15 per cent of the Goals had been met.

© US National Archives Bretton Woods Conference delegates, July 1944.

A new Bretton Woods?

In his policy brief on the subject, published in May 2023, the UN chief lays out proposals that could enable countries to pull their citizens out of poverty and reach their full potential, and calls for a “new Bretton Woods moment”, a reference to the groundbreaking post-World War Two international agreement that led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, organizations which provide critical finance to developing countries to weather crises and invest in their long-term development..

The context in which the IMF and World Bank were created is practically unrecognizable from today’s political and economic environment. For a start, only 44 delegations were present, compared to the 193 nations that make up today’s United Nations.

The world economy is now twelve times the size it was in the 1940s, yet the resources of the international financial institutions have not grown at the same pace. Countries must contend with a growing number of challenges and investment needs, including responding to the climate crises and pandemics, and are exposed to a growing range of shocks. As a result, the “financing gap” between the resources countries invest and those they need to meet the SDGs has ballooned.

The system, says Mr. Guterres, is now “entirely unfit for purpose in a world characterized by unrelenting climate change, increasing systemic risks, extreme inequality, entrenched gender bias, highly integrated financial markets vulnerable to cross-border contagion, and dramatic demographic, technological, economic and geopolitical changes.”

The answers, according to the UN chief, involve ramping up financing to eradicate poverty and support sustainability, making the main decision-making bodies of the IMF and World Bank more democratic and representative, and strengthening the global safety net to shield countries equitably and effectively during crises.

The Secretary-General has commended the current leadership of the IMF and World Bank for taking important steps but called on the global community to urgently accelerate reforms to address today’s challenges.

WHO/Diego Rodriguez Everyone has the right to a healthy environment, free of pollution and its harmful consequences.

A Pact and a pledge

These issues are a key focus of a series of discussions at the Summit of the Future, a landmark conference taking place at UN Headquarters in late September.

They are also reflected in the Pact for the Future, which represents, according to António Guterres, a pledge by all countries to “use all the tools at your disposal at the global level to solve problems – before those problems overwhelm us.”

In the Pact, signatory nations commit to accelerate the reform of the international financial architecture to “turbocharge implementation of the 2030 Agenda” through a wide-ranging series of actions.

The Summit will build momentum towards the International Conference on Financing for Development (Ffd4), due to be held in Spain in June 2025.

Seven of the ten most populous cities in the world are in Asia, with Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai and Dhaka topping the list. These urban giants, long seen as symbols of opportunity and progress, are now in danger of dragging economies backwards.

In a new report, the UN’s regional development arm, ESCAP, warns that without urgent and inclusive action, these stresses could widen inequality, overstretch public services, and deepen social and environmental tensions.

In response, Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, ESCAP’s Executive Secretary, is calling for a new urban model that prioritises equity and resilience.

“The road to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development runs through cities and across the entirety of human settlements,” she wrote in a foreword to the report, stressing the need for decisive and inclusive action.

Source: ESCAP report Ten largest cities in the world in 2024. Click here to download

Skyrocketing temperatures

The climate crisis is pushing many of Asia’s cities to their limits.

In 2024, record temperatures swept through South and Southeast Asia – from Dhaka and Delhi to Phnom Penh and Manila – straining infrastructure and healthcare systems.

The “urban heat island effect”, which causes cities to be hotter than surrounding rural areas, is worsening these conditions, especially for the elderly and the lowest earners in crowded informal settlements.

Between 2000 and 2019, nearly half of all global heat-related deaths occurred in Asia and the Pacific. With rising temperatures and shrinking green spaces, risks are growing.

Some cities are already investing in innovative solutions to adapt to climate extremes.

In Shanghai’s flood-prone Pudong New District, authorities have responded with a real-time flood forecasting and early warning system covering over 1,200 square kilometres.

By integrating weather forecasts and hydrological data, the system enables rapid simulation of flood events, giving local agencies critical lead time to act.

Rapidly ageing populations

Meanwhile, the region is experiencing a profound demographic shift. By 2050, the number of older persons in Asia and the Pacific is projected to reach 1.3 billion – nearly double the figure in 2024.

As birth rates fall and rural migration slows, cities are aging and – in some cases – beginning to shrink. East Asia is already witnessing this with “shrinking cities” emerging after decades of expansion.

This trend places growing pressure on city planners to adapt infrastructure, healthcare and public services to meet the needs of older residents, many of whom live alone. Yet most cities remain underprepared.

© UNICEF/Zhantu Chakma In Dhaka, stark inequality is laid bare as informal settlements sprawl in the foreground, shadowed by rising high-rises in the distance.

Expanding informal settlements

A third trend is the rapid growth of informal settlements and shanty towns.

With housing prices soaring and wages stagnating, millions are being pushed into slums and unregulated neighbourhoods. These areas are often the first to face climate shocks – and the last to receive services like sanitation or emergency relief.

“When housing becomes a commodity, rather than a place to live, it creates systemic risks for urban economies and by extension national and even global economies,” the report notes.

Turn risks into opportunities

Despite the challenges, ESCAP stresses that cities remain central to Asia’s sustainable future.

To turn risks into opportunities, the report calls for integrated urban planning, stronger local data systems and diversified financing – so cities can build resilience, foster equity and promote sustainable growth.

It also urges countries to strengthen regional cooperation and city networks to share solutions.

Ministers and top government officials are expected to discuss these recommendations, along with other key sustainable development issues at the 81st session of the Commission in Bangkok this week.

– ‘Climate finance is not charity, it’s an investment,’ says UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called on world leaders to prioritize climate financing and warned that failing to address the “climate debt” would result in severe repercussions for humanity.

“COP 29 must tear down the walls of climate finance,” Guterres said during his address at the World Leaders Climate Action Summit (WLCAS), held in Baku as part of COP29.

“There is no time to lose. On climate finance, the world must pay up or humanity will pay the price. Climate finance is not charity. It’s an investment. Climate action is not optional. It’s an imperative,” he said.

With time running out to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, Guterres pointed out that 2024 is on track to become the hottest year on record, following the hottest days and months ever recorded.

“Time is not on our side,” he said.

The UN chief highlighted the significant damage inflicted on communities, infrastructure, and children by natural disasters exacerbated by climate change, saying, “All these disasters and more are being supercharged by human-made climate change. And no country is spared.”

Guterres underscored the injustice of climate change impacts, explaining “the rich cause the problem, the poor pay the highest price. Oxfam finds the richest billionaires emit more carbon in an hour and a half than the average person does in a lifetime.”

“Unless emissions plummet and adaptation soars, every economy will face far greater fury,” he warned.

However, he pointed to recent progress as a sign of hope, noting that investments in renewable energy and grids exceeded fossil fuel investments for the first time last year.

“Almost everywhere, solar and wind are the cheapest source of new electricity. So doubling down on fossil fuels is absurd,” Guterres said.

The secretary-general stressed the need to reduce global emissions by 9% each year and achieve a 43% drop from 2019 levels by 2030.

He also emphasized the G20’s responsibility to lead in fighting the climate crisis, while affirming the UN’s commitment to provide necessary support.

By Emre Gurkan Abay and Ruslan Rehimov in Baku, Azerbaijan

Writing by Seda Sevencan

Anadolu Agency

energy@aa.com.tr