G20 India: Sustainable Finance Working Group-Enabling SDG Financing

Background:

1. Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) has been established under the 2021 G20 Italian Presidency co-chaired by the US and China.
2. The aim was to deliberate on how to help focus the attention of the G20, international organizations and other stakeholders to key priorities of the sustainable finance agenda and form consensus on key actions to be taken.

G-20 India Presidency

3. India continues to give priority to this and has already scheduled four meetings as below:

?1st Meeting:?????????2-3 Feb in Guwahati

2nd Meeting:????????21-23 Mar in Udaipur

3rd Meeting:?????????19-21 Jun in Mahabalipuram

4th Meeting:?????????28-29 Aug in Varanasi

4. The outcomes of the each working group meeting will inform the subsequent Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meetings that will be held as scheduled here:

Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meetings

1st Meeting: ???23-25 Feb in Bengaluru

2nd Meeting: ??10-15 April Washington DC (Bank-Fund Spring Meetings)

3rd Meeting:???24-25 July in Gandhi Nagar

4th Meeting: 10 Oct in Marrakesh, Morocco (Bank-Fund Annual Meetings)

First Meeting of SFWG

5. A two-day intensive deliberations of the First SFWG successfully concluded on 03 February in Guwahati, Assam.

6. 95 delegates from G20 member countries, 10 invitee countries and 14 international organizations like IMF, NGFS, World Bank, UNDP, UNEP Fi, ADB, NDB, FSB among others attended in person. Many other international organizations joined the meeting virtually.

7. The co-chairs for SFWG are USA and China and Mr Larry McDonald, Assistant Secretary at U.S. Department of the Treasury, and Wang Xin, Director-General, Research Bureau, People’s Bank of China attended the meeting. They have been very supportive of all the agenda items.

Aims and Priorities

8. SFWG aims to mobilize sustainable finance to help ensure global growth and stability and promote the transition towards greener, more resilient, and inclusive societies and economies.

9. The Guwahati SFWG discussed three priority areas i.e.

(i) Mobilization of timely and adequate resources for climate finance

(ii) Enabling finance for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and

(iii) Capacity building of the ecosystem for financing toward sustainable development.

Outcomes of the Guwahati SFWG

10. The first priority of mobilization of timely and adequate resources for climate finance received wide-ranging support. The paper prepared by the Government of India as the Presidency input paper for the priority was also supported as a good basis for the discussion. The meeting highlighted that the public sector and MDBs play a critical role in the mobilization of finance at scale and reasonable cost.

11. the Workshops organized, as side events, such as those supporting early-stage climate technology from infancy to deployment and the conference on the non-price policy measures, were well received. All member countries supported the first priority. ?

12. As regards second priority for enabling finance for the Sustainable Development Goals, the group noted that the domestic financing gap for SDGs in several countries has increased over the years. With only seven years left to achieve Agenda 2030, scaling-up of sustainable finance is urgently needed to respond to the challenges of a changing world.

13. The SFWG in 2023 will develop an analytical framework for financing select SDGs to complement the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap and will make recommendations to the stakeholders. Additionally, SFWG would also compile a compendium of case studies of best practices on financing for SDGs by jurisdictions, IOs and private sector, as an outcome of a side event.

14. The deliberations on this agenda item have gone off well and it received a lot of support on this from the member countries and international organizations.

15. The third priority, which is the capacity building of the ecosystem for financing sustainable development, has been taken up because in many countries there is a lack of adequate knowledge and a scarcity of skilled professionals and workforce in sustainable finance.?Skilled workforce is always a huge asset especially in area of sustainable finance and forms the key to achieve the SDGs.

16. To address these challenges, in 2023, the SFWG will develop a G20 Sustainable Finance Technical Assistance Action Plan (TAAP). It would include identification and analysis of existing capacity-building activities and identifying the existing sustainable finance skill gaps.

17. Based on this, SFWG would give recommendations for IOs, MDBs, International NGOs, and country authorities on how to scale up capacity-building services and explore ways to form a global network for sustainable finance capacity building. This agenda item has also been received with lot of support and cooperation from all the countries.

18. Promoting the idea of vocal for local, an exhibition of local products showcasing the rich culture and heritage of Assam was organized on the side lines of the meeting. Many organizations including state cooperatives, small medium enterprises, startups among others were part of the exhibition.

Conclusion:

19. The discussions in this meeting will inform the First G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under the Indian presidency, which will be held on 24-25 Feb, 2023 in Bengaluru.

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