Pouring several colors of paint into a single bucket produces a gray pool of muck, not a shiny rainbow.
Similarly, when it comes to discussions of financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
jumbling too many issues into the same debate leads to policy muddiness rather than practical
breakthroughs. For example, the common “billions to trillions” refrain on SDG financing falls into this
trap. While originally a useful device for calling attention to the need for a paradigm shift in financing,
including from private sources, the meme’s emphasis on mega-aggregates is now a distraction from
operational consideration