2023 G20 Sustainable Finance Report finalised in Varanasi meeting

VARANASI The fourth and final meeting of the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group, held under India’s G20 presidency, concluded in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday with the finalisation of the 2023 G20 Sustainable Finance Report. The two-day meeting was deemed highly successful.

The two-day meeting witnessed proactive engagement from over 80 delegates from G20 member countries, invitee countries, and international organisations, including the World Bank, New Development Bank, and NGFS, among others. Many other organisations joined the meeting virtually, according to Prashant Kakkar, PIB’s media and communication officer.

The two-day meeting in Varanasi aimed to jointly agree on the final 2023 G20 Sustainable Finance Report, which synthesises the work carried out by the SFWG in the form of recommendations for the identified priority areas. The fourth meeting also discussed the progress made by G20 members and international organisations (IOs) on the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap, Kakkar explained.

Achieving sustainable development requires collective efforts from all member countries. Throughout the SFWG meetings, both the Co-Chairs (the US and China), members, invitee countries, and international organisations actively participated and contributed to the finalisation of deliverables as key outcomes under the SFWG this year.

The success of the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group’s endeavours stands as a testimony to the collective will and determination of the G20 nations to jointly address global challenges. As India’s G20 Presidency draws to a close, the legacy of this fruitful collaboration will continue to inspire and guide global efforts focused on healing our ‘One Earth,’ creating harmony within our ‘One Family,’ and giving hope for our ‘One Future.’ The four Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) meetings were held in Guwahati, Udaipur, Mahabalipuram, and Varanasi.

The G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) aims to mobilise sustainable finance to help ensure global growth and stability and promote the transition towards greener, more resilient, and inclusive societies and economies. The main purpose of the Group is to advance international work to help scale up private and public sustainable finance and, in doing so, accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap, as finalised in 2021, is the core framework guiding the SFWG’s functions and future work.

Guided by the principle of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ and in line with our ethos of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,’ SFWG during India’s G20 Presidency has worked to further global good and create a better planet. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated, it is our collective responsibility not to let progress toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) fall behind and to ensure that no one is left behind.

Towards this end, in 2023, the SFWG carried out work to enable finance for SDGs, along with the mobilisation of timely and adequate resources for climate finance as agenda priorities.

During India’s G20 presidency, the SFWG made recommendations in six areas: (1) Mechanisms for Mobilization of Timely and Adequate Resources for Climate Finance; (2) Policy Measures and Financial Instruments for Catalysing the Rapid Development and Deployment of Green and Low-Carbon Technologies; (3) Scaling up the adoption of social impact investment instruments; (4) Improving Nature-related Data and Reporting; (5) G20 Technical Assistance Action Plan; (6) Overcoming data-related barriers to climate investments.

In addition, the members finalised a compendium of case studies on financing SDGs and a compendium on non-price policy levers to support sustainable investments, Kakkar added. The G20 New Delhi Leader’s Declaration 2023, adopted in the Leader’s Summit held recently, has welcomed the work undertaken by the SFWG under India’s G20 presidency.