Paris Pact for People and the Planet (4P)

The Paris Pact’s 4 main principles

• No country should have to choose between its development and protection of the planet.
• Every country is free to adapt a transition strategy of their own to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
• A massive scaling up of public finance is needed both to alleviate poverty and protect the planet.
• Private finance needs to be redirected and raised in massive amounts to support these objectives.

Based on this political consensus, a group of States met with the aim of enacting an ambitious reform of the international financial architecture, in order to rapidly raise the finance needed to tackle climate change and alleviate poverty.

The Paris Pact now counts 70 States [1] from across the globe, developed and developing countries, small island States and large emerging economies alike.

About the 4P

The combined effect of COVID-19, conflicts, climate change, and natural disasters are plunging more people into poverty, inequalities are growing wider and not enough progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is being made.

The annual SDG investment gap is growing and is now $4.2 trillion after COVID-19. If carbon neutrality is to be achieved by 2050, global investment in clean energy will have to triple worldwide and $2.2 to $2.8 trillion per year will be needed for the energy and climate transition in developing and emerging countries.

Meanwhile rising inflation and interest rates, an unsustainable debt burden, trade tensions and other external shocks have significantly reduced countries’ fiscal space.

According to the 2023 Report of the Secretary General, Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, it is important:

• to tackle the high cost of debt and the rising risks of debt distress;
• to massively scale-up affordable, long-term financing for development;
• to expand contingency financing to all countries in need.

This is what motivated President Macron to invite our international partners to Paris to boost closer multilateral cooperation to rise to common challenges, to restore confidence and to obtain swift results for peoples and the planet.

What are the aims of the 4P?

The 4P provides an inclusive forum where participating countries can discuss and work on a common road map for development, the climate and nature, contributing to overcoming divides and succeeding in negotiations and discussions held in other multilateral fora, such as COPs, boards of multilateral development banks and the IMF, the G7, the G20, etc.

The 4P is also a platform where all members can put forward initiatives to help achieve the overarching goal of scaling up available finance for the climate and development. For example, Kenya, France and Barbados launched an International Tax Taskforce which aims to identify international tax options for financing global public goods ahead of COP30.

The 4P expands discourse, which connects the different components of the international financial architecture reform programme. It highlights progress and identifies shortcomings in the international community’s efforts in reports it publishes regularly. It showcases the efforts of individual countries and their initiatives by helping to rally more support and increase their reach.

How does the 4P work?

The 4P member States meet regularly to track the implementation of the Pact’s objectives. An independent Secretariat was set up in January 2024 and is hosted by the OECD.

A Special Envoy will be appointed in the coming months to give a face to the 4P. He or she will represent the 4P and its positive agenda in the international arena, building political traction for its implementation. He or she will work to make the 4P more inclusive and broaden the impact of its actions.

Progress so far on the reform of the international financial architecture since the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact

• Regarding Multilateral Development Banks (MDB): The G20 adopted a Roadmap for Bigger, Better and More Effective MDBs, including with a scaled-up aim of $300-400 billion in additional financing over 10 years;
• Regarding the IMF special drawing rights (SDRs): The aim of €100 billion in SDRs was achieved and surpassed ($111.1 billion in April 2024). Mobilization continues via IMF tools and the proposal for a decentralization of their use via the African Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
• Regarding the strengthening of representation in the large international finance institutions: It was agreed to create the third African seat on the IMF Executive Board.
• Regarding debt treatment for developing countries: Significant measures have been taken in implementing the G20 Common Framework, including the finalization of Zambia’s debt restructuring (March 2024), Ghana’s debt treatment agreement (January 2024) and the suspension of Ethiopia’s debt service (November 2023), as well as financing assurances in due course to support the agreement between the authorities and the IMF. Outside the Common Framework, Sri Lanka’s debt treatment was approved in June 2024.
• Regarding climate finance goals: The OECD confirmed that the $100 billion goal for climate finance from developed countries was exceeded for the first time in 2022 ($115.9 billion).

What are the priorities for 2025?

In 2025, the 4P community will seek to contribute to ongoing international processes participating in ambitious reform of the international financial architecture, particularly the International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville from 30 June to 3 July 2025 and Climate COP30 in Belém from 10 to 21 November 2025.

The 4P Secretariat plans to develop concrete proposals in four areas:

• Raising private finance,
• International taxation for the climate
• Development,
• Vulnerability.