G20 Issue Brief: Sustainable Finance, February 2017

 

Delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 requires some $90trn of investments over the next 15 years. The issue is not availability of capital: our global financial system today is nearly $300trn strong and growing. Rather, the challenge is aligning financial regulation with sustainability objectives to shift financial flows and unleash green finance. Success would result in more than just meeting SDGs. It would create a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive global economy, while at the same time adding approximately $12trn a year to global GDP – and possibly more. In their current form, however, financial markets do not price in the externalities of investments at a level strong enough to shift investments decisions; nor do they provide enough public information to market players regarding their exposure to sustainability-related risks and opportunities. More work is also needed to scale up green finance.