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Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Secretary-General and top business leaders agree on steps to scale up investment in sustainable development

Meeting today with leaders of prominent financial institutions and businesses United Nations Secretary-General Ant¨®nio Guterres called the private sector ¡°more important than ever,¡± as the world struggles to recover from the devastating economic fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic.

¡°The timely achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals is at serious risk. To reverse our course, a fundamental change of financing and investment is needed to place sustainability at the core of the global economic and financial system,¡± Guterres said. ¡°Private sector leadership will be more important than ever.

The Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance was launched a year ago by the Secretary-General. Members, who control assets worth US$16 trillion, are committed to deliver on key strategies that will scale-up sustainable investments globally. Today, they have agreed on a range of actions to better align business activities with the SDGs. These include:

  • Developing platforms to catalyse finance and investment flows to developing countries in support of the SDGs.
  • Creating a clear and unified set of information for investors on how companies are performing on sustainability criteria.
  • Incentivising financial institutions and corporations to take a longer term, sustainable approach to their investments
  • Coordinating GISD actions with major policy making groups (like the G20) and financial system bodies to ensure that its recommendations are included in their priorities.

¡°The GISD Alliance has taken important initial steps to achieve its mission,¡± said Alliance Co-Chair and CEO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Leila Fourie. ¡°It is now more important than ever that we move toward the phase of implementation, starting with the key deliverables we have outlined today.¡±

Among the achievements of the GISD Alliance¡¯s first year was the report , which was submitted to the European Commission¡¯s sustainable finance consultation. The report made more than 60 recommendations for global action to scale-up investment in sustainable development.

The Alliance this year also developed a unified definition of and released the first of its kind , which was endorsed by the International Capital Markets Association. The statement was developed jointly by investors and underwriters to support high-priority activities that combat the negative impacts of COVID on public health, livelihoods and economic wellbeing.

¡°The ongoing pressures faced by many entities from COVID-19, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises, means that this Call to Action will continue to be relevant for some time to come,¡± said GiSD member Manny Roman, CEO of PIMCO.

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Special Envoy for Climate Change and Finance, former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney moderated the virtual meeting, which aimed at setting a road map for the remaining term of the GISD Alliance. High profile attendees included GISD co-chairs Oliver B?te, CEO of Allianz SE, and Leila Fourie; as well as Amanda Blanc, CEO of Aviva; Vijay Advani, Executive Chairman of Nuveen; Jane Fraser, CEO-designate of Citigroup; and Ilham Kadri, CEO of Solvay.

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