Intergenerational Equity At The Center Of International Finance Architecture Reforms: A Youth-led Policy Guide

This policy brief will investigate the integral system transformations required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) financing requirements, specifically, the enabling and requisite role ofreforming the International Financial Architecture (IFA) to achieve SDG and broader sustainability financing goals. Financing to fulfil the SDGs must go beyond resource allocation. It requires understanding and addressing the systemic forces that have brought about the unfolding global polycrisis, and the mechanisms required to enhance financial inclusion, sustainability and resilience, and long-term value creation for all. Importantly, in the interests of vulnerable groups like children and youth, for the IFA reform to engender any real and meaningful impact, it must be grounded in principles of intergenerational equity. Practically, intergenerational equity should be reflected in financial institutions’ targets, operations, and financing decisions so that they can have tangible outcomes in sustainable development. This policy brief and its underlying research are entirely written by youth, as our participation in knowledge creation and policymaking is fundamental to the realisation of the SDGs. The research will involve data collection, insights-gathering, and stakeholder consultations to analyse how the concept of intergenerational equity and low-carbon, climate-resilient development is perceived and operationalised in current IFA reform proposals. It recommends a set of principles-based guidelines that financial institutions should align with to meaningfully implement intergenerational equity concerns in their environmental and social target setting, investing/lending, business operations, disclosures, and governance. By placing primacy on the intergenerational implications of IFA reform, this brief can act as an additional resource guiding policymakers, financial institutions, and civil society alike in advancing justice for all.