The Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) was held from 13-16 July 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. FfD3 followed on the first international conference on FfD in 2002, which yielded the Monterrey Consensus, and the second international FfD conference in 2008, which produced the Doha Declaration.
FfD3 carried a heavy burden, since outcomes from Addis were expected to have a strong bearing on the forthcoming post-2015 sustainable development negotiations and COP21 climate change negotiations. As a result, delegates were under pressure to deliver substantive outcomes, as failure of the FfD process could derail the post-2015 effort, and in the eyes of some, the credibility of UN and multilateralism as a whole. Much was also at stake at FfD3 for the transport sector, whose key cross-cutting role had not been sufficiently emphasized in the FfD process. In the run-up to FfD3, delegates produced several successive drafts of the Addis Ababa Accord (AAA), which formed the basis for negotiations at the Addis conference.
In March 2015, SLoCaT posted a draft assessment of the AAA zero draft, noting that transport was directly referenced four times in the zero draft, specifically in passages related to ensuring sufficient investment in sustainable and resilient infrastructure, addressing gaps in trade and transport related regional infrastructure, and scaling up support to PPPs targeting sustainable urban development. SLoCaT was further encouraged to note that transport was indirectly referenced in passages related to fossil fuel subsidies, carbon pricing, and ensuring enabling environments necessary for infrastructure investment. It was also acknowledged that the approach taken in the zero draft is generally in line with the approach defined in the SLoCaT Results Framework on Sustainable Transport to improving access and reducing negative externalities.
In June 2015, the SLoCaT Partnership submitted comments to the co-faciliators of FfD3 on the position of sustainable transport in the final draft AAA. While SLoCaT expressed encouragement by the emphasis in the draft text on the development of infrastructure, it was also noted that the text does not fully acknowledge specific funding requirements of the transport sector (in contrast to other sectors such as the energy sector, whose position is detailed at various points throughout the document). SLoCaT asserted that more specific references to the transport sector – as a vital, cross-cutting sector that enables all other sectors to develop and deliver on the national and global policies, targets and agreements on sustainable development and climate change – should be more prominently emphasized in the ultimate outcome document from FfD3.
The SLoCaT Partnership has released a summary report to present the key topics of discussion of the FfD3 from the perspective of sustainable transport. Its initial reaction to the AAAA is measured, based on the modest increase in direct references to transport, which have increased from four to five between the zero draft and the final outcome document.
The Second Drafting Session of the Outcome Document (13-17 April 2015)
The second drafting session of the outcome document of the third International Conference on Financing for Development was held in New York, from 13-17 April 2015.The outcome document, expected to be negotiated and agreed at the third International Conference on Financing for Development from 13 to 16 July 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, should constitute an important contribution to the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda.
The First Drafting Session of the Outcome Document (27-29 January 2015)
The first drafting session of the outcome document for the third International Conference on Financing for Development was held on January 27-29 2015 in New York, United States.