High-level conference: A global approach to sustainable finance

The European Commission is organising its second high-level conference on sustainable finance with the objective of encouraging a global approach to sustainable finance.

The world faces a serious investment gap in delivering on the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. The OECD estimates that $6.9 trillion of annual investment in energy, transport, buildings and water infrastructure would be required over the next 15 years to be consistent with the 2° scenario as set in the Paris Agreement. Even higher investment levels will be necessary to cap global warming at 1.5° Celsius as recommended by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and to achieve a net-zero greenhouse gas economy that the EU is targeting in its long-term strategy for 2050.

Public funds will obviously not be sufficient to meet these investment needs. The financial sector has therefore a critical role to play to close this investment gap. Mobilising private investors to finance sustainable projects on a global scale is therefore indispensable for reaching tangible results in the fight against climate change, environmental degradation and social inequalities. The EU aims to be at the forefront of coordinating international efforts towards building a coherent financial system that supports global sustainable growth. To this end, the Commission presented an ambitious action plan on financing sustainable growth in March 2018. A year later, many other jurisdictions are deploying similar initiatives.