Development leaders have converged on Sevilla, Spain, for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, or FfD4 — the first such gathering in a decade — as shrinking aid budgets and a U.S. retreat from multilateral commitments reshape the sector.

At the 2015 conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, official development assistance was at record levels amid ambitious “billions to trillions” rhetoric — the idea that limited public funds could catalyze massive private investment to tackle global challenges such as climate change.

Today’s backdrop includes the pandemic fallout, inflation, the war in Ukraine, and sweeping aid cuts. The U.S. participated in outcome document negotiations until the final stages, reportedly proposing 400 amendments to soften the language on climate and gender before withdrawing entirely, citing too many “red lines.”

In this special live podcast episode recorded at Casa Devex, Devex’s events hub for the next few days, reporters Elissa Miolene and Jesse Chase-Lubitz sit down with Executive Editor Kate Warren to discuss what’s at stake and why this “once-in-a-decade” forum has taken on heightened significance.

FfD4 kicks off as aid budgets shrink and U.S. steps back

The Caribbean island of Jamaica is just one of many small island developing states under threat due to the impacts of climate change.

Devex sat down with Suzanne Stanley, CEO of the Jamaica Environment Trust, to find out more about the work of JET and why they see education as being key to combating climate impacts.

Episode 1: A local approach to climate change in Jamaica with Suzanne Stanley

Kiribati has one of the lowest carbon-emission footprints in the world. But, with the highest points of these 33 low-lying atolls rising to just a few meters above sea level, the country is also one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

In the second episode of the Turning the Tide: Climate Champions podcast, Devex speaks to Kiribati's former president, Anote Tong, about the sensitivities surrounding climate-change induced migration and the need for the global community to cooperate on solutions to the challenges posed by climate change.

Episode 2: The complexity of climate-change induced migration with Anote Tong

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FfD4 kicks off as aid budgets shrink and U.S. steps back

Devex | Global Development

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