STILL ONLY ONE EARTH: Lessons from 50 years of UN sustainable development policy

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development examines the role of finance and technology in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, tracing the evolution of UN sustainable development policy from 1972 to 2020.

• The world possesses sufficient total financial assets to fund sustainable development, but a significant financing gap remains. With global GDP over USD 80 trillion and gross financial assets exceeding USD 200 trillion, the gap to achieve the SDGs is estimated between USD 2.5 and USD 3 trillion annually.
• Developed countries have struggled to meet the commitment to mobilize USD 100 billion per year in climate finance by 2020. In 2017, the total climate finance provided and mobilized was USD 71.2 billion, and the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to further lower projections for 2020.
• The 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) serves as the global framework for development financing, aligning with the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. It established the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) to encourage the transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries via the annual STI Forum.
• While digital technologies—including AI, blockchain, and big data—can improve resource efficiency and support zero-carbon energy, a persistent digital divide exists. ODA for STI capacity development in Africa, landlocked developing countries, small island developing states (SIDS), and least developed countries (LDCs) has not grown over the last decade.
• Several barriers hinder the diffusion of technology to developing countries, including intellectual property rights (IPRs), insufficient absorptive capacities, the digital skills gap, and social or cultural factors. For example, Thailand identifies IPRs as a barrier to clean energy technology and notes negative public perception of biomass and waste-to-energy plants.
• The adoption of digital technologies carries risks, including job loss, exacerbated inequalities, digital identity theft, government or business invasion of privacy, and the manipulation of social media via AI-powered technologies.
• The Global Environment Facility (GEF) acts as the financial mechanism for the three Rio Conventions: the UNFCCC, the CBD, and the UNCCD. It provides grants to developing countries and countries with economies in transition across six focal areas, including biodiversity and climate change.

APA

Kosolapova, E. (2020). STILL ONLY ONE EARTH: Lessons from 50 years of UN sustainable development policy. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-12/still-one-earth-finance-technology.pdf

Chicago

Kosolapova, Elena. STILL ONLY ONE EARTH: Lessons from 50 years of UN sustainable development policy. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2020. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-12/still-one-earth-finance-technology.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kosolapova |first1=Elena |title=STILL ONLY ONE EARTH: Lessons from 50 years of UN sustainable development policy |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=December 2020 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-12/still-one-earth-finance-technology.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kosolapova2020still, author = {Kosolapova, Elena}, title = {{STILL ONLY ONE EARTH: Lessons from 50 years of UN sustainable development policy}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-12/still-one-earth-finance-technology.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }