14 July 2015: The UN Environment Programme launched a series of reports from its ongoing inquiry into the design of a sustainable financial system, on the occasion of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The UNEP series includes three reports on: ‘Aligning Africa’s Financial System with Sustainable Development;’ ‘Values Based Banking: Bringing the Voice of the Citizen into Finance;’ and ‘Aligning the Financial Systems in the Asia Pacific Region to Sustainable Development: Asia-Pacific High-Level Consultation on Financing for Development.’ In the Asia-Pacific region, the authors note that the region’s savings, US$8.4 trillion in 2012, represents more than half of the world’s total savings, which, if channeled toward sustainable development, would make a significant difference. In Africa, they propose innovations such as green and inclusive credit guidelines and incentives, issuance of green bonds, drawing on state-owned investment vehicles to provide long-term finance for development, and sustainable stock exchanges that will better align the availability of private finance with sustainable development needs. On values-based banking, the report outlines current challenges to financial systems, examining examples of social, ethical and green banks, and banks that have religious roots.

Speaking at the Addis Ababa conference, UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said the UNEP Inquiry, launched in 2014, is one of its most ambitious undertakings. He noted that US$270 billion was invested in renewable energy globally in 2014, and anticipated that US$100 billion of green bonds will be issued in 2015, up from US$37 billion the previous year. Steiner cited the estimate of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) that developing countries alone face a US$2.5 trillion annual investment gap in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, and welcomed the role of the global South in financial innovation and leadership.

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) also launched its own report, titled ‘Financing for Transformation: From Agenda to Action on Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific.’ Shamshad Akhtar, ESCAP Executive Secretary, called for addressing “the skewed distribution” of financial needs and resources across countries, highlighting the need for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as poor households, to have access to financial services.

The UN Sustainable Energy For All initiative (SE4All) launched a report, titled ‘Scaling Up Finance for Sustainable Energy Investments,’ which describes ways to boost investment in sustainable energy up to US$120 billion. [Publication: Aligning Africa’s Financial System with Sustainable Development] [Publication: Values Based Banking: Bringing the Voice of the Citizen into Finance] [Publication: Aligning the Financial Systems in the Asia Pacific Region to Sustainable Development: Asia-Pacific High-Level Consultation on Financing for Development] [Publication: Financing for Transformation: From Agenda to Action on Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific] [Publication: SE4All Advisory Board’s Finance Committee Report on Scaling Up Finance for Sustainable Energy Investments] [UNEP Press Release] [ESCAP Press Release] [SE4All Press Release] [UNEP Knowledge Repository] [IISD RS Coverage of FfD3]