scholarly journals Innovative Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals in the Countries of Western Balkans

Author(s):  
Igor Luksic ◽  
Bojana Boskovic ◽  
Aleksandra Novikova ◽  
Rastislav Vrbensky

Abstract Background: This paper is related to the current stage of the development in the Western Balkans. Despite becoming a growing instrument to finance sustainable development green, debt swaps and social or sustainability bonds are a relative novelty in this region. At the same time the development needs are huge, especially in the light of the Covid-19 aftermath. Results: We have analyzed the public debt position in the Western Balkans countries which points to the deteriorated new debt accumulation perspective especially in the light of the growing public debt over the past decade. Our research suggests that the ESG/Sustainability-linked bonds and debt-for-climate swaps as innovative financial instruments seem to be promising to leverage additional finance into sustainability goals in the Western Balkans Six given their need on the EU track and their economic and structural challenges. After briefly discussing the methodological approach, we discuss the history and features of green bonds and debt-for-nature swaps and their diverse underlying mechanisms. Then we derive recommendations for policymakers in designing future green bonds and debt-for-nature swaps and apply these to national circumstances in the Western Balkans Six. Conclusions: The related countries need to explore more innovative approaches to finance sustainable societies. In the close cooperation with the EU and related to the European Green Deal countries of the Western Balkans six should feel motivated to design financing mechanisms that will bring in the more transparency into the different policies and the more accountability for their implementation. The EU should stand ready to use its cohesive and pre-accession funds to support such market mechanisms, which can bring the cooperation to the next level. Applying the recommended modality may help keep the problem of the public debt be kept at bay while additional funds may support implementation of thestructural reforms.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1721
Author(s):  
Marta Estrada ◽  
Diego Monferrer ◽  
Alma Rodríguez ◽  
Miguel Ángel Moliner

Education must guide students’ emotional development, not only to improve their skills and help them achieve their maximum performance, but to establish the foundations of a more cooperative and compassionate society. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, therefore, implies focusing on emotional aspects as well as financial, social, environmental, and scientific objectives. In this line, the goal of this study is to show how emotional intelligence, which is an essential dimension in the development and management of emotional competences required to build sustainable societies, plays a key role in optimising student’s academic performance in the classroom through compassion and academic commitment. The research model was tested with a questionnaire addressed to 550 students from four higher education institutions and one secondary school. The results of a structural equation analysis confirmed the study hypotheses. Emotional intelligence was shown to be positively related to compassion and higher levels of commitment, which, consequently, led to better academic performance. This finding will encourage interest in developing emotional intelligence, not only for its long-term value in training healthy citizens, but also for its short-term results in the classroom.


IFLA Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 034003522110383
Author(s):  
Faten Hamad ◽  
Maha Al-Fadel

In view of the increased importance of the Sustainable Development Goals and the limited number of public libraries in Jordan, it is important to investigate the role and practices of academic libraries in promoting knowledge and skills to support the Sustainable Development Goals in Jordan. It is also important to explore the challenges that might hinder the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals. The results of this study support the fact that academic libraries can significantly contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals ( M = 3.53) by providing access to relevant and up-to-date information ( M = 4.16) and giving training on information literacy ( M = 4.03). Access to information contributes to the quality of life of society ( M = 4.41). This article provides insights for academic librarians and decision-makers into disseminating measures for promoting knowledge and skills related to the Sustainable Development Goals among students and the public community in Jordan. The study recommends some relevant strategies, such as the collaboration of academic libraries with governmental and health institutions to support the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals in Jordan.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolás Gambetta ◽  
Paula Azadian ◽  
Victoria Hourcade ◽  
María Reyes

This paper explores the financing framework for sustainable development in Uruguay, an emerging economy, and examines whether available financing instruments contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in which significant progress is still required in this country. Reports, policy documents and academic literature were reviewed to determine the types of sustainable development financing instruments available, and to analyse the challenges facing emerging economies in this regard. In addition, the financing programmes available from the public sector, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the financial sector and multilateral credit agencies were examined. The results obtained show that the main financing sources for sustainable development are located within the public sector due to the absence of a developed financial market, and that the existing financial instruments do not address the SDGs where most attention is required. The latter circumstances make it challenging to achieve these SDGs in Uruguay. The study findings highlight the need for greater coordination among all parties to make efficient use of the scarce resources available to an emerging economy and thus enable it to meet its SDGs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7675
Author(s):  
Guillaume Lafortune ◽  
Grayson Fuller ◽  
Guido Schmidt-Traub ◽  
Christian Kroll

Evidence-based policymaking must be rooted in sound data to inform policy priorities, budget allocations, and tracking of progress. This is especially true in the case of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as they provide the policy framework that all 193 UN member states have pledged to achieve by 2030. Good data and clear metrics are critical for each country to take stock of where it stands, devise pathways for achieving the goals, and track progress. Current assessments of the EU’s performance on the SDGs, however, tend to reach different findings and policy conclusions on where the priorities for further action lie, which can be confusing for researchers and policymakers. In order to demystify the drivers of such differences and make them transparent, this paper compares and contrasts the results obtained by four SDG monitoring approaches. We identify three main elements that are responsible for most of the differences: (i) the use of pre-defined targets for calculating baseline assessments and countries’ trajectories; (ii) the inclusion of measures that track not only domestic performance, but also the EU’s transboundary impacts on the rest of the world; and (iii) the use of non-official statistics to bridge data gaps, especially for biodiversity goals. This paper concludes that there is not one “correct” way of providing an assessment of whether the EU and EU member states are on track to achieve the goals, but we illustrate how the different results are the outcomes of certain methodological choices. More “forward-looking” policy trackers are needed to assess implementation efforts on key SDG transformations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-67
Author(s):  
Rafael Leite Pinto

The EU asserts itself as a leader when it comes to climate change policy. In this article, we analyze the EU’s environmental action regarding the 7th Environmental Action Programme 2020 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) 2030 set by the UN. We synthesise the successes and failures of the EU’s environmental policy in the fields of emissions reduction, circular economy, biodiversity, energy policy and agricultural policy, with the goal of understanding where the EU is lacking and what, therefore, needs stronger measures to reach international goals and avoid an environmental catastrophe. We conclude that the EU will not reach most environmental targets set for 2020 and in order to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, what changes need to be implemented to ensure stronger environmental measures.


2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-24
Author(s):  
Janusz Myszczyszyn

Abstract The necessity to protect natural resources in accordance with the idea of sustainable development is an indisputable issue. Not only the industrial sector organizations, but those of the public sector as well must join this process. The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme can play an important role in this respect. 3.7 thousand organizations have already registered in the EU EMAS register, including, unfortunately, only 71 from Poland, of which almost 40% from the public sector. The author tries to set out the benefits, resulting for the public sector organizations from the implementation of the scheme, but also the barriers and weaknesses of the system, which makes it not very popular in Poland. The results of the author’s own research carried out in 2016 among representatives of EMAS system, inter alia, of public sector organizations in Poland were used for this purpose.


Author(s):  
О.І. Савченко ◽  
Туран Угур

The main goal of this study is to show the performance of the indicators under 4 integrated main groups by using the multifactorial analysis methodology in the light of the selected indicators, by drawing attention to the integration of the energy network, which Ukraine has developed in line with the sustainable development goals, in the field of the energy economy, which has been planned with the European Union. Observing these performances is among the aims of the author’s research to draw attention to the importance of reform steps Ukraine has taken in line with its sustainable development goals and these reforms will be expected a positive impact on the country’s accession to the EU. 17 sustainable development goals developed by UNDP, where efficiency and innovation are imperative, focus on the improvement of countries and play a role in the formation of the indicators and groups of this study. According to the results of the study, it is observed that the indicators selected for Ukraine are linked to the data used in line with the country’s common goals with the EU and 2035 energy targets, as observed in the analysis results in integrated groups. The ambition of this study, which focuses on the development of Ukraine, is aimed by the author to offer an alternative and strategic perspective to small and medium-sized entrepreneurs (SMEs) in the energy sector.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2(13)) ◽  
pp. 123-133
Author(s):  
Emília Huttmanová ◽  
Tomáš Valentiny ◽  
Roman Novotný

Sustainability ideas are implemented in almost all areas of life, not only into the economic and social life. However, the ways to sustainable development quantifying are still relatively complicated and incomplete. One of the possibilities of assessment and achievement of sustainable development and sustainability can be considered assessment using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) presented in Agenda 2030. The aim of the paper is to assess the similarity of the EU countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals according to 2030 Agenda.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4153
Author(s):  
Angeliki Mentzafou ◽  
Momčilo Blagojević ◽  
Elias Dimitriou

Among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established in the 2030 Agenda, goals 6.3, regarding clean water and improve of water quality, and 6.5, regarding integrated water resources management, highlight the need for the implementation of successful environmental water quality monitoring programs of transboundary river waterbodies. In the present study, the designation of high priority areas for water quality monitoring of Drin transboundary watershed is performed using a suitability model, a GIS-based multicriteria decision analysis (GIS-MCDA) approach that takes into consideration the most important conditioning factors that impose pressures on rivers. Based on the results, the methodological approach used manages to sufficiently delimit the areas with increased need for water quality monitoring in the Drin watershed, and the validation procedure produces a correlation coefficient of 0.454 (statistically significant at a 0.01 level). Limitations arise in the case of a lack of detailed information or inaccurate input data and due to the inconsistency among the input data and the different methodological approaches regarding the information collection of each country involved. These restrictions foreground the need for cooperation between the countries involved regarding the exchange of scientific knowledge and common legislation, so as to achieve integrated, effective, and sustainable management of water resources of the area.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 654-667
Author(s):  
Dmytro Zhuravlov ◽  
Mykhailo Prokhorenko ◽  
Tamara Chernadchuk ◽  
Vitaliy Omelyanenko ◽  
Valentyna Shevchenko

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