OECD Contributions to the 2030 Agenda and Beyond

1. Key policy insights

Box 1.1. Priority recommendations for sustainable and equitable transformation

To advance sustainable and equitable transformation, governments should consider:

• Ensuring policy coherence by strengthening coordination capacity, establishing effective institutional mechanisms that detect and resolve policy conflicts and mitigate negative impacts, aligning actions across sectors and between levels of government, and building capacities for cross-sectoral cooperation.

• Adopting a territorial approach that incentivises and empowers subnational governments to develop and implement plans to advance on the SDGs, with supportive fiscal frameworks, granular data and governance structures that align spending, priorities and monitoring across different levels of government.

• Strategically aligning future and current public investments with planning tools such as National Development and Decarbonisation plans, stimulating further investments from private and other sectors into strategic priorities.

• Taking a whole-of-government approach to international regulatory co-operation that conveys political leadership and builds a holistic vision with co-operation platforms and clearly defined roles and responsibilities for oversight bodies and regulators.

• Implement policies to enhance the transparency, accountability, and plurality of information sources and upgrade governance measures to uphold the integrity of the information space.

• Strengthening institutional capacity to deliver people-centred justice through developing people-centred justice purpose, culture and a continuum of legal and justice services based on evidence of legal needs of different groups of people.

• Updating the development effectiveness narrative and adapting institutional arrangements, management systems, policies, and practices to engage with partner country actors, including by supporting locally led development co-operation, leveraging whole of government contribution and building support for development.

• Developing better, more relevant and timely metrics beyond GDP that capture the multitude of experiences and needs of people and that are instrumental for informing a tailored, effective and coordinated policy response.

• Strengthening access to social protection by increasing coverage and ensuring the sustainable financing of social protection systems to leave no one behind.

• Investing in accessible, equitable and quality education for all, and promoting access to lifelong learning and activation support for workers in the informal sector.

• Enacting and enforcing laws that enable gender equality and protect women’s and girls’ human rights, tackle gender discrimination and bias in education, the labour market, and economies and societies.

• Investing more, more equitably and more efficiently in education, including by harnessing the power of the digital revolution to provide quality education, with a particular focus on ensuring an inclusive, safe, healthy, and stimulating learning environment for all.

• Promoting global cooperation for Universal Health Coverage, including by facilitating international dialogue to improve global policy coherence and support for global public goods such as vaccines, surveillance efforts, and coordinated emergency responses.

• Developing adaptation and mitigation measures to protect the livelihoods of the most exposed populations, in anticipation of major reallocations within and across sectors.

• Evaluating the allocation of budgetary resources to fossil fuels and gradually phasing out inefficient fossil fuel support, which encourages wasteful consumption and impedes investment in clean energy.

• Addressing the economic and social consequences of climate-altered water cycles, and wherever possible working to stabilise the hydrological cycle to mitigate climate change.

• Using strategic foresight to identify effective climate actions under various climate scenarios, including developing contingent plans for climate emergencies.

• Deploying strategically development finance to mobilise and scale up private finance for sustainable development, including climate finance, scaling up blended finance and the use of green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked bonds, and addressing regulatory barriers to encourage private investment, especially in emerging and developing economies.

• Enhancing Aid for Trade to support the SDGs and emerging priorities by incorporating SDG considerations systematically, including increasing resources, improving supply chain resilience, and supporting digital and environmental transitions.

• Broadening tax bases and/or by tax policy and tax administration reform, including the digitalisation of tax processes.

• Tackling corruption and addressing the “enablers” of illicit financial flows including the networks of financial intermediaries, accountancy firms, advocates and advisers that enable or sustain them.

• Ensuring sustained investments and greater directionality in research and innovation while reappraising science and technology systems and policies to ensure they are “fit-for-purpose”.

• Promoting international cooperation and dialogue would bolster trust in the data flows that underpin today’s economy.

• Measuring, assessing, and anticipating AI’s impact across the economy and society, supporting interoperability across policy frameworks, and the adoption of trustworthy AI, acknowledging that opportunities and risks may differ based on sectoral specificities.

• Promoting the use of AI systems in the workplace that respect the privacy of workers, fairness, ensure occupational safety and health, transparency, explainability and accountability, as well as ensuring access to training and promoting social dialogue.

• Develop core digital public infrastructure that is safe, secure, trustworthy and inclusive and invest further in solid data governance arrangements.

• Fostering competition and investment in communication infrastructure to expand consumer choice, lower prices, increase the quality of broadband offers, and spur innovation.

• Addressing the impact of digital transformation on human rights across sectors and embedding human rights throughout the lifecycle of digital technologies.

• Ensuring that the digital environment is both safe and beneficial for individuals, in particular for vulnerable groups such as children, including through coherent policies and measures that provide for age-appropriate child safety by design and that promote digital literacy.

• Ensuring long-term sustainability of space activities through stronger and more coordinated public-private collaboration on data-sharing, international consensus on standards and best practices, technological development, and innovative policymaking.

• Promoting job creation, addressing labour market barriers, and ensuring that quality jobs are available for all young people, and applying strategic foresight and public management tools to explore various future implications of current policies and mainstreaming the perspective of current young and future generations in policymaking.

1.1. Governance for equitable and sustainable transformation

An equitable, sustainable and inclusive transformation requires governments worldwide to be people centred in their policy outlook, inclusive in their governance approach, to overcome sectoral silos and policy fragmentation and to set realistic, yet also ambitious and coherent economic, social and environmental objectives that go beyond short-term political cycles. Governments will need to use all mechanisms, systems, and tools available to them to ensure that sustainable development goals are explicitly incorporated into their main policy agendas. This includes processes such as budgeting and public procurement. Aligning public investments across levels of government with sustainability priorities will also be crucial to shape a sustainable future. It will require strategic use of these investments, as well as the stimulation of further investments from private and other sectors. An unprecedented range of actors will need to collaborate and participate at every stage of policy design. Effective governance processes and structures can take many forms and countries must be open to a broad spectrum of potential approaches.

1.1.1. Equipping governance and institutions for sustainable and inclusive transformation

Establishing robust policy coherence systems is critical for a country’s pursuit of its citizens’ well-being and domestic sustainable development, without adversely affecting the sustainable development prospects of other countries. Effective policy coherence systems help harmonise policy priorities, including both domestic and international, and reduce policy fragmentation, ensure policies across sectors and levels of government are mutually reinforcing, and minimise the negative spillovers of domestic policies. To advance policy coherence, according to the OECD Recommendation on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) (OECD, 2019[1]) , countries may consider to:

• Set up strategic policy frameworks to systematically integrate economic, social, and environmental dimensions at all stages of policymaking, underpinned by clear political commitment and leadership to enhance PCSD; and

• Strengthen coordination capacity and establish effective institutional mechanisms that detect and resolve policy conflicts, align actions across sectors and between levels of government, mitigate negative impacts of policies, and foster an administrative culture of cross-sectoral cooperation, as well as adequate training of civil servants.

  Aligning public investments with sustainability priorities is crucial to shape sustainable future. In the context of a rapidly warming planet, for example, it will be essential to leverage transition finance in support of building resilient critical infrastructure assets and services. In addition, it will be critical to reduce the risks of illicit financial flows and enable integrity in cross border payment and financial management systems for protecting domestic resource mobilisation (DRM) and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). To this end, governments can:

• Strategically align future and current public investments with planning tools such as National Development and Decarbonisation plans, stimulating further investments from private and other sectors into strategic priorities through mixed schemes such as Public Private Partnerships;

• Prioritise quality domestic and foreign direct investments that contribute to sustainable development and address the interconnectedness of environmental, social, and economic aspects, including through planning and other tools;

• Tackle the risks of financial exclusion, by addressing the unintended effects of global legal regulation on the ability of developing countries to access finance and credit;

• Prioritise measures that can reduce the risk of corruption and illicit financial flow (IFF) across sectors critical for domestic resource mobilisation, including tax revenue collection, remittances, trade and investment; and

• Target the enablers of illicit financial flows to prevent the unlawful diversion of economic gains out of countries, which can negate financial inflows and severely reduce domestic investment capacity.

1.1.2. Adopting a territorial approach to SDGs

Cities and regions have a crucial role to play in SDG achievements although the 2030 Agenda was not designed specifically for or by them. Most underlying policies and investments are a shared responsibility across levels of government. Local and regional governments account for 55% of total public investment in OECD countries, and it is estimated that 65% of the 169 targets contained in the SDGs cannot be achieved without the engagement of subnational levels.

• Adopt a territorial approach that incentivises and empowers subnational governments to develop and implement plans to advance on the SDGs, with supportive fiscal frameworks, granular data and governance structures that align spending, priorities and monitoring across different levels of government; and

• Utilise responsive tools and monitoring mechanisms to anticipate and address cross-national and long-term impacts of policies on sustainable development and ensuring that policies can be adjusted in light of their impacts.

1.1.3. Developing a suitable regulatory framework

However, ensuring the necessary policy coherence systems and public investments is not enough in itself. Individual governance tools, such as budgeting, procurement and rule-making also need to be considered. Indeed, achieving the SDGs requires their integration across the different stages of the rule-making process, from the initial design of laws and regulations through their effective and efficient implementation and to their periodic revision. To ensure compliance with SDG norms, governments need to establish and maintain appropriate mechanisms for consultation, co-ordination, and capacity-building for SDGs at every step of the process. Enhanced regulatory cooperation will also be required to navigate escalating crises in an interconnected world. The OECD Recommendation on International Regulatory Co-operation to Tackle Global Challenges describes three high-level principles to guide governments in ensuring their inter-governmental processes are well co-ordinated and provide adequate incentives to tackle global issues:

• Take a whole-of-government approach to international regulatory co-operation that conveys political leadership and builds a holistic vision with co-operation platforms and clearly defined roles and responsibilities for oversight bodies and regulators. This is key to ensure that policymakers and regulators across sectors support their government’s global commitments by considering international impacts and capitalising on relevant information, practices and evidence;

• Recognise international regulatory co-operation throughout domestic rulemaking by gathering and taking into account international knowledge as well as relevant impacts, considering existing international instruments, providing opportunities to engage with interested parties to comment on potential international consequences of regulatory options; and

• Co-operate internationally on bilateral, plurilateral, and multilateral levels for the development and diffusion of good practices, the consideration and recognition of other jurisdictions' measures, and collection of evidence on issues of common interest.

1.1.4. Ensuring information integrity to enhance the ability of governments to fulfil their responsibilities

Growing threats to media independence and viability, the rapid and unbridled ascent of new technologies and comparable lack of rights-based ethnical frameworks to guide their development, mis- and dis-information and the significant upswing in threats to journalism as a profession pose multiple risks to democracy, including through direct electoral interference, a lack of fact-based knowledge exchange and reporting, and the erosion of public trust in government. This extends to how the public receives information about government policies related to the SDGs. Given the ubiquity of digital technology, including AI, and their impact on how we receive and consume information, governments must devote more time to examining information policies within their countries as well as in coordination with their international counterparts. To strengthen information integrity, governments should:

• Implement policies – such as supporting independent media or ensuring that online platforms are held accountable for information spread through their services – to enhance the transparency, accountability, and plurality of information sources;

• Foster societal resilience to disinformation by promoting the development of citizens’ critical thinking practices and digital skills; and

• Upgrade governance measures and public institutions, such as regulation, strategic frameworks, and capacity building to uphold the integrity of the information space.

1.1.5. Enabling inclusive governance, enhancing access to justice and promoting people-centered justice systems

Access to justice is a critical element to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs and promote healthy democracies, as acknowledged in the SDG 16.3 indicator, which calls upon countries to promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all. At the same time, countries face significant gaps in access to justice with more than 5.1 billion people worldwide lacking meaningful access to justice. This requires reshaping the justice systems by redesigning legal and justice service to address diverse legal needs. To this end, in line with the OECD Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-centred Justice Systems, governments should:

• Strengthen institutional capacity to deliver people-centred justice through developing people-centred justice purpose and culture based on evidence of legal needs to different groups of the population;

• Design and deliver a continuum of people-centred legal and justice services tailored to diverse legal needs; and

• Empower individuals through legal literacy and community-based initiatives.

1.1.6. Strengthening global development cooperation

Official Development Assistance (ODA) remains an important, stable, and reliable source of external finance for developing countries. The global context however is evolving and so must the aid system. Neither the development co-operation system nor the global financial architecture was designed to tackle today’s complex interlinked crises, and moments of challenge offer a window of opportunity for change. Systemic changes are needed in terms of the range, quantity, and quality of resources for development and the architecture that governs their use. Common ground for further collaboration between development co-operation providers needs to be found. Engagement and mutual learning should be further strengthened to increase impact and effectiveness on the basis of internationally endorsed development co-operation effectiveness principles, with the highest standards of transparency and mutual accountability in development co-operation globally.

Development co-operation could act as a catalyst to support a level playing field in developing countries, that builds on the strengths of these countries, commits to long-term and locally led development, and ensures protection for the poorest and most vulnerable, while also expanding support for development-related global public goods. It is an important way to advance dialogue and partnerships for the SDGs through helping to build the capacities of these countries and enabling quality investment in line with sustainability criteria to ensure no one is left behind. To best support locally led development and ensure that ODA achieves desired outcomes, policy makers can: 

• Better leverage and maximise the sustainable development impact of ODA and other official flows to mobilise private finance and investment through innovative instruments with a focus on quality (blended finance, bonds, guarantees, etc.) that is aligned with the SDGs and built on inclusive partnerships;

• Refresh the development effectiveness narrative in a changing global context with new demands, and adapt institutional arrangements, management systems, policies, partnerships, and practices to engage with partner country actors accordingly, including by supporting locally led development co-operation in line with development effectiveness principles; Leverage whole of government contribution to development and build public and political support for development. This can include decentralised development co-operation (DDC) through common DDC guidance and objectives at national, regional, and local levels, to support locally led and effective development co-operation, including through the facilitation of peer-to-peer learning to deliver mutual benefits in areas where cities and regions have strong competencies and knowledge to share;

• Promote policy coherence for sustainable development by considering the transboundary aspect of policy making to increase the effectiveness of their policies and with a view to achieving the SDGs, and by continuing to develop adequate metrics and frameworks to orient and measure the contribution of the private sector to the SDGs and promote harmonisation and inter-operability of these frameworks; and

• Safeguard the integrity of ODA and strengthen corruption risk management systems in partner countries building on the 2016 Recommendation of the Council for Development Co-operation Actors on Managing the Risk of Corruption. Additionally, prioritising the fight against illicit financial flows (IFFs) will remain strategic. The 2023 DAC Policy Guidance on Mitigating Risks of IFFs in oil commodity trading provides a roadmap to enhance domestic resource mobilisation for the benefit of populations in resource-rich developing countries while at the same time laying the basis to ensure integrity in the energy transition.

1.1.7. Strengthening capacities to measure progress beyond GDP to reflect economic and social progress for environmental sustainability

It is very difficult to improve the lives of people we do not know about, or about whom we know very little. The 2030 Agenda and Our Common Agenda recognise this critical flaw in global policy-making: our economic models and measurements undervalue many elements that greatly contribute to human well-being, while overvaluing activities that harm people and the planet. To better understand the particularities of each country and their people's living conditions, their distribution across the population, and their sustainability over time, we need to collect better and more high-quality, granular, and people and planet-centred data. Advances in statistical capacities and techniques are increasingly enabling such measurement, as exemplified by the United Nations Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (UN IAEG)’s framework for measuring the SDGs, allowing better insights into how economic, social and environmental phenomena interact and how they are experienced differently across different population groups and places. To develop and strengthen measures of progress beyond GDP, parties can work to:

• Strive for better, more relevant and timely metrics beyond GDP that capture the multitude of experiences and needs of people and that are instrumental for informing a tailored, effective and coordinated policy response; and

• Strengthen statistical capacity to collect better evidence and harmonise data collection between and within countries and to fill statistical gaps for minorities and marginalised groups, with a view to reach and account for all those that are at risk of being left behind.

1.2. Policies and investments for a sustainable transformation and accelerated progress across the SDGs

The United Nations seek to take bold, ambitious, accelerated, just, and transformative actions to realise the 2030 Agenda and Leave No One Behind, including by investing in people and their socio-economic development to end poverty and strengthen trust and social cohesion; promoting gender equality and empowering and protecting all women and girls as a prerequisite to achieve the SDGs; accelerating efforts to protect the environment and fight climate change; and reducing inequalities.

1.2.1. Closing divides to “Leave No One Behind (LNOB)”

The concept of LNOB entails ensuring that everyone everywhere benefits from development and the full realisation of human rights without discrimination on any basis. This means creating policy to close existing socioeconomic divides and address other persistent inequalities in our societies. In particular, this requires providing universal access to social protection and generating quality jobs for a just and equitable transition; addressing the double burden of informal and low-paying work; investing in women and girls; adopting a life-course approach to essential services, including education; and securing universal health coverage. 

In particular, providing universal access to social protection and supporting a just and equitable transition calls on governments to:

• Strengthen access to social protection by increasing coverage and ensuring the sustainable financing of social protection systems to leave no one behind; and

• Use targeted social protection policies and strategies to promote the integration of environmental and economic considerations into social protection measures.

Breaking the vicious circles of informal employment and low-paying work necessitates governments to:

• Enhance access to social protection for lower-tier informal workers, including by integrating them in non-contributory social protection schemes and subsidising their participation in contributory schemes to alleviate poverty;

• Advance remuneration policies that address inequality – and the mechanisms to ensure their application and enforcement – including effective minimum wages and measures to improve the bargaining power of low paid informal workers; and

• Invest in accessible, equitable, quality education, and promote access to lifelong learning and activation support for workers in the informal sector.

Closing gender gaps requires governments and partners to:

• Enact and enforce laws that enable gender equality and protect women’s and girls’ human rights, tackle gender discrimination and bias in education, the labour market, and economies and societies;

• Improve policies, practices and investments in gender equality via development co-operation and diplomacy efforts, including by promoting and using the new DAC Recommendation on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of All Women and Girls in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance, and related DAC Recommendation on Ending Sexual Exploitation Abuse and Harassment Guidance to better support global ambitions to promote gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls (OECD, 2022[2]).

• Promote gender balance in private and public leadership positions, support gender equality in entrepreneurship, and ensure equal pay for work of equal value, support a more equal distribution of paid and unpaid work between men and women, more accessible and affordable early childhood education and care, and effective flexible working arrangements for the compatibility of work and family responsibilities; and

• Mainstream gender equality across policy areas.

Adopting a life-course approach to essential services and tackling the global crisis in education will require to:

• Invest more, more equitably and more efficiently in education, including by harnessing the power of the digital revolution to provide quality education as a public good and a human right, with a particular focus on ensuring an inclusive, safe, healthy, and stimulating learning environment, including for the most marginalised;

• Integrate sustainable development education into mainstream curricula to equip learners with the knowledge, skills, and values needed to tackle global crises, with the goal of fostering resilience and innovation to build more sustainable societies; and

• Engage and empower young people as agents of change to deliver sustainable, resilient, and innovative solutions to multiple crises, particularly at the local level.

Achieving and sustaining Universal Health Coverage (UHC) will require to:

• Increase funding for UHC at both domestic and international levels by expanding prepayment mechanisms and leveraging health taxes on products that are harmful for people's health;

• Invest in national health systems’ resilience by aligning action across finance and health ministries to address capacity constraints; and

• Promote global cooperation for UHC, including by facilitating international dialogue to improve global policy coherence and support for global public goods such as vaccines, surveillance efforts, and coordinated emergency responses. This ensures that all countries can better withstand and recover from health crises.

1.2.2. Leveraging synergies between environmental and social policy objectives

When environmental policies are aligned with well-being goals their cost-effectiveness increases, as multiple problems can be tackled at the same time. Identifying areas where social inclusion and environmental objectives are mutually reinforcing can help policy makers minimise trade-offs and develop more coherent policy measures and financing mechanisms. Areas to focus these efforts include strengthening domestic enabling conditions and the credibility of transition finance; addressing the distributional impacts of climate policies; ensuring access to clean energy and the shift to renewables and making the transition affordable to vulnerable populations, while protecting biodiversity and natural resources; harnessing the mutual benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptation; ensuring sanitation, water, and food security; and assessing and responding to disaster risks. In the context of the transition to net-zero emissions, governments should:

• Consult widely to ensure that their ambition will be matched by popular support.

The transition to net-zero emissions will have deep effects on global labour markets. To address the labour market and multi-dimensional distributional impacts of climate policies, governments can:

• Provide effective training and early intervention measures to help transitions out of emission-intensive occupations, coupled with well-designed out-of-work income-support schemes;

• Improve pay and working conditions in low- and medium-skilled green-driven jobs;

• Develop adaptation and mitigation measures to protect the livelihoods of the most exposed populations, in anticipation of major reallocations within and across sectors;

• Channel part of the carbon price revenues back to the most affected households through well-targeted transfers; and

• Leverage green investments in support of well-being objectives, including by investing in actions that improve physical and mental health and contribute to community cohesion.

To secure accelerated access to clean energy, governments can work to:

• Evaluate the allocation of budgetary resources to fossil fuels and gradually phase out inefficient fossil fuel support, which encourages wasteful consumption and impedes investment in clean energy;

• Redirect public spending towards the development of low-carbon alternatives, alongside improvements in energy efficiency and security; and

• Reform existing support measures to better target those in need.

Human well-being is inherently connected to environmental quality and sustainability. Therefore, in leveraging synergies between environmental and social objectives, policy makers must also consider the important role of, and impacts on, biodiversity. Key recommendations to address biodiversity loss in this regard include for governments to:

• Develop comprehensive natural capital accounts, a tool that measures changes in ecosystems and setting clear SMART targets and indicators; and

• Mainstream biodiversity in strategies, plans, policies and project and aligning public budgets and fiscal policy with biodiversity objectives; identify and reform environmentally harmful government support; and scale up private finance and investment in biodiversity, including through enhanced use and effectiveness of economic instruments as part of a broader policy mix. 

In turn, securing sanitation, water, and food security in the context of a warming planet will require governments to:

• Address the economic and social consequences of climate-altered water cycles, and wherever possible working to stabilise the hydrological cycle to mitigate climate change;

• Implement greater policy coherence to allow for multisectoral, bottom-up, and place-based interventions that address the unique needs and opportunities of different territories and communities; and

• Engage cities and rural areas in sustainable food policies as part of their territorial development strategies, focusing on reducing food waste, and fostering a circular economy, while taking into account urban-rural linkages.

Finally, disaster response is another area where policy makers must implement preventative measures to protect the greatest number of lives. A particular challenge is siloed nature of disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) responses, which tend to reside within separate institutions. This often results in policy incoherence, hindering efforts to assist those experiencing crisis. To achieve better integration, the OECD advises countries to:

• Make tailored climate information readily available to support evidence-based policy-making, as well as strategic foresight through anticipatory analysis; 

• Align responsibility for co-ordination with responsibility for implementation of CCA and DRR policies and enhance capacity to translate coherence in planning into coherence in implementation, especially by supporting regional and local governments;

• Use strategic foresight to identify effective climate actions under various climate scenarios, including developing contingent plans for climate emergencies; and

• Optimise long-term funding allocation across different risks through budgeting tools, disaster risk financing mechanisms including early warning and anticipatory action plans based on assessments of future impacts, and greater transparency in public spending and monitor, evaluate and learn from CCA and DRR.

1.3. Financing sustainable development and creating a global enabling environment for developing countries

The United Nations strive to close the SDG financing gap in developing countries by providing sustainable, affordable, accessible, and predictable development finance, including to support the adaptation of developing countries to the impacts of climate change, ensuring these countries have the financing they need. In addition, they have vowed to scale-up the means of implementation to developing countries to enhance their science, technology, and innovation capacities. The United Nations also seek to ensure that the global trading system is an engine for sustainable development, including in developing countries. A concerted effort from all multilateral stakeholders is required to meet the ambition of expanded multilateral mandates and scaled up financing for those in most need to tackle the challenges ahead. This necessitates optimising the distribution of multilateral development banks’ aid allocation, but also includes replenishments to these funds driven by the principle that scarce concessional resources must go to the countries and people most in need. 

1.3.1. Delivering an SDG stimulus

Estimates suggest that securing a surge in SDG-related financing will require trillions of dollars of additional annual spending by 2030. Reaching this surge in financing will require deeper partnerships, technical assistance on blended finance instruments, measurement of the contribution of ODA to Global Public Goods (Elgar et al., 2023[3]) and new analysis on innovative financing structures and instruments to scale up public and private financing for sustainable development. Strategies and actions to achieve this include the mobilisation of private finance for sustainable development, scaling up the use of green, social, and sustainability bonds in developing countries, strengthening the use of local currency solutions, and promoting blended finance instruments. To this end, governments can work to:

• Mobilise and scale up private finance for sustainable development, including climate finance, scaling up blended finance and the use of green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked (GSSS) bonds, and addressing regulatory barriers to encourage private investment, especially in emerging and developing economies;

• Strengthen the governance and effectiveness of Multilateral Development Banks (MBDs), including with regards to mitigating risks and attracting private investment; and

• Increase the utilisation of local currency financing to deepen domestic capital markets and enhance country ownership.

1.3.2. Harnessing trade for the SDGs

International trade can play a pivotal role in advancing the SDGs by fostering economic growth and promoting inclusive and sustainable development. Trade allows countries to capitalise on their comparative advantages and enhance access to international markets, stimulate productivity, and create employment opportunities. To ensure that trade effectively addresses sustainability goals, it is essential that trade policies are aligned with sustainable development objectives and promote inclusive and equitable outcomes for all stakeholders. To this end, countries and stakeholders can work together to:

• Harness trade facilitation policies to reduce costs, spark competitiveness, promote productivity, and enhance innovation and growth, thereby growing opportunities for trade;

• Promote good governance in export credits to boost support for SDG-aligned transactions; and

• Enhance Aid for Trade to support the SDGs and emerging priorities by incorporating SDG considerations systematically. This includes increasing resources, improving supply chain resilience, and supporting digital and environmental transitions, thereby fostering a more inclusive and efficient system for financing development.

1.3.3. Leveraging domestic tax revenues for SDG financing

Tax revenues are the largest and most sustainable component of financing for development. Taxation can also help reduce inequality through redistribution and can help address health and environmental objectives through behavioural change. Ensuring that tax revenues are sufficient to fund development requires both effective tax policies and effective tax administration. Capacity building to support developing countries in strengthening their tax systems, and in applying international tax standards, is a key part of securing sufficient resources for development. To leverage domestic tax revenues for SDG financing, governments can therefore work to:

• Support domestic resource mobilisation efforts, for example, by stemming illicit financial flows (IFFs) in macro-critical sectors such as trade and investment, banking and financial services; and by addressing the underlying enablers of IFFs and corruption, in terms of the traders, financiers, lawyers and accountants, that enabling and sustain these interests;

• Broaden tax bases and/or by tax policy and tax administration reform, including the digitalisation of tax processes;

• Build capacity and technical expertise to support the implementation of the agreed international tax standards and instruments (e.g., the tax transparency standards implemented by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, and the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project and the Two-Pillar Solution to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy developed by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS); and

• Support international tax coordination via the Platform for Collaboration on Tax, which brings together the OECD, the United Nations, the IMF and the World Bank.

1.4. Science, technology, and innovation for sustainable and inclusive transformation

Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policies play an important role in helping countries achieve the SDGs. With regard to the digital transformation, it is essential to promote the trustworthy design, development and use of digital technologies across sectors, including AI and including in the public sector and the labour market, enhance broadband connectivity to bridge digital divides within and between countries, achieve well-performing digital health systems through digital technologies, uphold human rights in the digital age, promote online safety and digital security, strengthen data governance and improve trust in cross-border data flows and address the negative externalities of the space economy, such as the growth in debris and congestion in orbit.

1.4.1. Harnessing STI policies to achieve the SDGs

Science, technology, and innovation (STI) are uniquely positioned to help drive the transformation of economies and societies to meet societal challenges like the SDGs. To this end governments can:

• Ensure sustained investments and greater directionality in research and innovation activities, coinciding with a reappraisal of STI systems and STI policies to ensure they are “fit-for-purpose”, as set out in the OECD Agenda for Transformative Science, Technology and Innovation Policies.

• Engage STI systems strategically in key cross-government endeavours that pursue societal and economic transformations to help identify and address innovation needs, and dynamic push and pull-factors.

• Invest in strengthening local STI systems, including in human capital and technology production capabilities to further enhance competitiveness and the ability to address societal challenges with mission-driven innovation policies and efforts.

1.4.2. Strengthening data governance and promoting trust in cross-border data flows

Data governance, which encompasses the array of technical, policy, and institutional arrangements that determine the cycle of how data is collected and used, must be managed. To strengthen data governance, countries and stakeholders should work together to:

• Harness the benefits of data access and sharing in the digital economy by building on high standards of data protection;

• Promote continued dialogue and international, cross-sectoral, and cross-regulatory cooperation on ways to facilitate data access and sharing across jurisdictions; and

• Continue to reinforce public sector data governance as part of digital government strategies to improve policy- and decision-making, and service design and delivery. This would imply also scaling up open government data policies given the value of public sector data for AI systems and the achievement of development goals, including climate action.

The OECD Recommendation on Health Data Governance explains why end-users must be actively involved in design and decision-making of the digitalisation of health systems. Recommendations for achieving effective well-performing digital health systems through digital technologies include:

• Build capacity and engage with the public and providers for the digital transformation;

• Harmonise regulation for adaptability, scale, and safety; and

• Transparently measure and report progress.

1.4.3. Promoting trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The OECD Recommendation on Artificial Intelligence, developed in 2019 and revised in 2024, guides AI actors in their efforts to develop trustworthy AI and provides policymakers with recommendations for effective AI policies. In line with the Recommendation, the OECD supports countries and stakeholders in their efforts to promote trustworthy AI, including to:

• Measure, assess, and anticipate AI’s current and future impact across the economy and society, and support interoperability across policy frameworks and the adoption of trustworthy AI across sectors, acknowledging that the nature and scope of its opportunities and risks may differ based on sectoral specificities;

• Support the anticipation of the potential transformative implications of technologies including AI on our economy and society; and

• Promote collaborative and inclusive environments to create policy on AI to minimise fragmentation and uncertainty.

1.4.4. Trustworthy use of AI in the labour market

The adoption of trustworthy AI in labour markets can create of employment opportunities, improve labour productivity and management processes, as well as job quality. It can also improve active labour market policies and the provision of training and employment services. At the same time, there are risks linked to inequalities, fairness, privacy, transparency and accountability which can affect workers’ rights and safety. To seize the opportunities and address the risks, policy makers can:

• Provide skills development and training opportunities, for both specialist and non-specialist AI skills;

• Promote the use of AI systems in the workplace that respect the privacy of workers, fairness, ensure occupational safety and health, as well as transparency, explainability and accountability;

• Promote the active involvement and consultation of workers and workers’ organisations in the adoption of AI systems in the workplace; and

• Facilitate cooperation between across countries to promote positive impacts of AI on the world of work globally, including for workers at all stages of the AI supply chain.

1.4.5. Governing with AI: Strengthening the use of artificial intelligence in the public sector

When implementing AI in the public sector, policy makers face significant challenges, including ensuring its use is trustworthy, and monitoring the impact and effectiveness across different areas such as public sector operations, public service design and delivery, and policy- and decision-making. Recommendations for advancing their implementation and monitoring impact to ensure their sustainability and long-term use include:

At the national level:

• Develop core digital public infrastructure1 that is safe, secure, trustworthy and inclusive and invest further in solid data governance arrangements at different levels;

• Establish, support, and maintain a digitally capable workforce;

• Define clear governance arrangements for AI in the public sector, including in terms of whole-of-government leadership, vision, strategic guidance, and institutional roles;

• Leverage digital government investments as a mechanism to deploy AI in the public sector cohesively, monitor its benefits, enforce standards, and to build partnerships with actors from outside of the public sector; and

• Define open approaches for AI in the public sector to support civic monitoring and auditing. This includes open algorithms and the proactive engagement with actors from outside the public sector, in particular those impacted by AI-informed decisions.

At the international level: 

• Promote knowledge sharing, exchange of good practices, and an informed policy dialogue to understand the implications of AI adoption in the public sector and direct its trustworthy use;

• Develop international standards to offer policy guidance to countries on how to ensure a safe, secure, and trustworthy development, deployment, and use of AI by the public sector; and

• Enhance national and international efforts for monitoring and evaluate the use of AI in the public sector, incorporating regular internal audits, performance monitoring, and impact assessments as essential components.

1.4.6. Enhancing broadband connectivity

Reliable connectivity is at the heart of digital transformation. To enable high-quality and affordable broadband infrastructure accessible to everyone, countries need to:

• Establish a clear understanding of connectivity gaps;

• Foster competition and investment in communication infrastructure to expand consumer choice, lower prices, increase the quality of broadband offers, and spur innovation; and

• Keep abreast of technology trends affecting the connectivity ecosystem to “future proof” networks.

1.4.7. Upholding human rights in the digital age

The digital environment offers significant opportunities to enhance every person’s enjoyment of human rights, but it can also create new and exacerbated risks. To ensure a human-centric and rights-oriented inclusive digital transformation, countries need to:

• Develop policies that address the impact of digital transformation on human rights across sectors, with particular attention to the impact of digital technologies on vulnerable groups, and embed human rights throughout the lifecycle of digital technologies, following a principles-based approach to technology development as in the OECD Recommendation on Artificial Intelligence;

• Bridge digital divides, including by providing individuals with connectivity and the skills needed to meaningfully participate in economy and society in the digital age; and

• Make efforts to raise awareness among the public about their rights in the digital sphere and the availability of mechanisms for making complaints and receiving assistance; and

1.4.8. Promoting online safety and digital security

As our societies and economies become increasingly global and interconnected, digital security and online safety are essential foundations of individual participation, business activity, and government service delivery. As such, they play a critical role in seizing the opportunities of digital transformation and building more resilient societies. To promote online safety and digital security, countries should:

• Ensure that the digital environment is both safe and beneficial for individuals, in particular for vulnerable groups such as children, including through coherent policies and measures that provide for age-appropriate child safety by design and that promote digital literacy;

• Increase the accountability of online platforms for increasing Internet safety while protecting human rights, including by promoting transparency reports about online content moderation policies and measures (e.g. terrorist and violent extremist content); and

• Encourage the adoption of digital security risk management practices across stakeholders and sectors, including continuous, systematic and cyclical risk assessments and the adoption of resilience, preparedness and continuity measures to mitigate the economic and social consequences of incidents when they occur.

1.4.9. Promoting sustainable development of the space economy

International co-operation is needed to ensure equitable access and future use of space resources. To this end, governments should:

• Ensure long-term sustainability of space activities through stronger and more coordinated public-private collaboration on data-sharing, international consensus on standards and best practices, technological development, and innovative policymaking; and

• Lower the barriers of access to space by supporting young and small actors through dedicated funding and programs and reviewing regulatory schemes that excessively benefit incumbents.

1.5. Empowering youth for a more equitable and sustainable future

The United Nations has committed to transformative levels of investment in, and engagement by, young people at all governance levels to secure a better future for all. The United Nations aims to invest in adequate services for young people so that they can reach their full potential, promote equal opportunities for all young people to foster inclusion and integration, and protect them from violence. Today’s youth as well as future generations will live with the consequences of our actions and inactions today, and judge whether we have met our responsibilities to ensure their well-being. Engaging young people in the work of the United Nations and its Member States is not just about their individual economic success and well-being but is also about driving overall economic growth and social cohesion.

1.5.1. Addressing the needs and rights of youth

Young people globally are challenged by economic and demographic changes, green and digital transitions, and rising costs of living that constrain their independence. In developing countries in particular, young people are taking jobs that do not live up to their aspirations, and that can even be dangerous for them. Policymakers must assess methods to combat youth un- and underemployment and promote better opportunities through investments in better labour market policies, social policies, and education policies.

The OECD Recommendation on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People​ advises countries to support young people in their transition into and within the labour market. To this end, countries can:

• Promote job creation, address labour market barriers, and ensure that quality jobs are available for all young people; job creation is critical for youth as they are normally among the most vulnerable and highly exposed to labour informality in many developing economies;

• Ensure that workplaces are barrier-free and that jobs are fair, safe and contribute to healthy and meaningful lives for young people; and

• Strengthen employment services and support available for young people.

To promote equitable access to entrepreneurship, countries can:

• Increase young people’s access to entrepreneurship training and business counselling; and

• Facilitate access to finance and networks.

To promote social inclusion, governments are invited to:

• Provide adequate income support for young people with insufficient means coupled with high-quality activation services;

• Ensure access to affordable and quality housing; and

• Strengthen outreach to young people in vulnerable and disadvantaged circumstances by providing integrated social, housing, health, employment, and legal support.

To ensure that young people develop appropriate skills and competencies, countries can:

• Provide equitable access to quality education and enable all young people to participate in an increasingly digitalised world; quality education is critical for promoting sustainable growth and foster good quality jobs;

• Address and mitigate early school leaving;

• Strengthen work-based learning and apprenticeships in close collaboration with employers;

• Provide learner orientation and career guidance; and

• Offer relevant support to teachers and education staff.

1.5.2. Promoting intergenerational justice

Intergenerational justice implies an obligation for contemporary generations to future generations, such as the pursuit of welfare by the current generation should not diminish the opportunities for a good and decent life for succeeding generations (United Nations, 2013[4]). Like all age groups, youth have specific interests that must be reflected in the way that countries are governed. The most effective way for their needs to be understood and met through policymaking is including them in decision making processes. However, young people face barriers to voting and running as candidates in elections, including voter registration requirements, trade-offs between investing in political involvement and studies or employment, lack of funding, traditional stereotypes, and minimum age requirements. Balancing the interests of youth and future generations requires adequate institutional frameworks, governance structures, public sector processes, and tools to unite behind common objectives to promote intergenerational justice. The OECD Recommendation on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People supports governments in embedding an intergenerational perspective into rule making, public budgeting, and service delivery across a range of spheres. To this end, countries can: 

• Raise awareness of intergenerational justice considerations among policy makers and equip them with adequate skills and resources to address age-based inequalities; including fostering youth’s participation in decision-making processes;

• Apply strategic foresight to explore various future implications of current policies against the backdrop of multiple disruptions as well as public management tools such as regulatory impact assessments to address inequalities across age groups and anticipate long-term impacts; and 

• Strengthen oversight and accountability mechanisms to monitor youth and intergenerational justice commitments and facilitating the independence of such mechanisms.

References

[3] Elgar, K. et al. (2023), “Development co-operation and the provision of global public goods”, OECD Development Co-operation Working Papers, No. 111, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/aff8cba9-en.

[2] OECD (2022), DAC Guidance for Development Partners: Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls, https://www.oecd.org/publications/gender-equality-and-the-empowerment-of-women-and-girls-0bddfa8f-en.htm.

[1] OECD (2019), “Recommendation of the Council on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development”, Oecd/Legal/0381, https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0381 (accessed on 9 July 2024).

[4] United Nations (2013), Intergenerational solidarity and the needs of future generations: Report of the Secretary General, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/2006future.pdf.

Note

← 1.  Digital public infrastructure refers to common digital building blocks that underpin services, such as common data sharing systems in government.