23 March 2016: Participants discussed how private sector capital can contribute to addressing environmental challenges at an event titled, ‘The Future of Green Finance.’ Discussions included the challenges and opportunities that green finance presents for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The event underscored the need for private sector investment in sustainable infrastructure to deliver inclusive and sustainable development and an energy transition towards climate resilient agricultural production, among other transitions.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the City of London and the Business 20 (B20) organized the event, which convened in London, the United Kingdom (UK), and brought together city professionals with policymakers from G20 countries.

“The nexus between sustainable development, near-term growth and productivity enhancing green investments…and securing future pensions and returns from other long-term savings…makes the topic of green finance so important,” explained UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. He said green finance directed at sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns and greening economic infrastructure offers a pathway for transforming savings into investments that deliver long-term returns. Steiner called for viewing green finance as a way to deploy “pools of capital in ways that drive productivity growth and…generate the wealth to meet the needs of a growing and ageing world population.”

Financial market developments are consistent with the environmental and social aspects of sustainable development, according to the findings of UNEP’s Finance Initiative. Steiner said central banks, financial regulators, stock exchanges and standards and accounting bodies are increasingly collaborating with financial institutions as part of an inclusive green economy and suggested finance as the next frontier in an urgent redesign process to recast economic sectors in line with sustainable development imperatives.

Participants shared examples of how private capital can finance sustainable development investment needs and reconnect economies and financing in ways that supports the interests of both investors and citizens, such as climate stress testing in France, green bond principles in China and enhanced listing requirement in South Africa. Particpants also discussed the City of London Corporation’s Green Finance Initiative, which aims to promote London as a leading global center for green financial services.

The event further discussed: the relationship between green finance and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including measuring progress; greening the banking sector and bond markets; the G-20 and B-20 green finance agendas; and recent studies, including the G-20 Green Finance Study Group under the Chinese G-20 presidency and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures established by the Financial Stability Board. [Event Website] [UNEP Executive Director Statement]