4th G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group Meeting begins in Varanasi
The key highlight of the 4th SFWG meeting will be reflections and sharing of experiences by G20 members on the progress made in the implementation of the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap
The fourth and last meeting of the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) under India’s G20 presidency began in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi on Wednesday.
The two-day meeting will bring together over 80 delegates from G20 member countries, special invitee countries and International Organisations.
According to the statement from Press Information Bureau media and communication in-charge Prashant Kakkar, the meeting will focus on finalising the 2023 G20 sustainable finance report.
The key highlight of the 4th SFWG meeting will be reflections and sharing of experiences by G20 members on the progress made in the implementation of the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap.
SFWG aims to help scale up private and public sustainable finance and in so doing, accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Paris Agreement is an international treaty on climate change adopted in 2015. The agreement covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance.
India has committed to cutting the emissions intensity of its GDP to 45% below 2005 levels by 2030.
The working group is being co-chaired by the US and China and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) serves as the secretariat.
Three priority areas have been outlined for the SFWG under India’s G20 Presidency, viz, (i) Mechanisms for mobilisation of timely and adequate resources for climate finance; (ii) Enabling finance for the Sustainable Development Goals; and (iii) Capacity building of the ecosystem for financing toward sustainable development.
These priority areas reflect India’s focus on sustainability and the theme of India’s G20 Presidency “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or ‘One Earth. One Family. One Future’.
The G20 Declaration adopted last week in New Delhi embodied the ‘One Family, One Earth, One Future’ vision.
The G20 New Delhi Leader’s Declaration 2023 which was adopted in the Leader’s Summit has also welcomed the work undertaken by the SFWG under India’s G20 presidency.
Leaders welcomed the recommendations on the mechanisms to mobilize resources for climate finance, scaling up blended finance and enhancing the role of MDBs.
Leaders have also taken note of recommendations on policies, and incentives to encourage greater private flows for the rapid development and deployment of green and low-carbon technologies.
The 4th SFWG meeting in Varanasi will continue to build on the first three meetings held in Guwahati, Udaipur, and Mahabalipuram respectively, to jointly adopt the 2023 G20 Sustainable Finance Report.
The report will consist of the recommendations welcomed by the G20 leaders during the New Delhi Summit along with two compendia– case studies on financing SDGs and on non-price policy levers to support sustainable investments.
A Domestic Outreach Event (Jan Bhagidari) on ‘G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group: Towards Strong, Sustainable, Balanced, and Inclusive Growth (SSBIG)’ was held on 12th September 2023 in Varanasi.
Students, academics, financial experts, policymakers, and regulators participated in the discussions highlighting the achievements of the sustainable finance agenda during India’s G20 Presidency.
