G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group
India has assumed the G20 presidency from 01st December 2022 to 30th November 2023, and it has been hosting around 200 G20 meetings across the country from December 2022. The G20 Leader’s summit at the level of Heads of Government is scheduled to be held on 09th and 10th September 2023 in New Delhi. One of the key discussion tracks in G20 is the Finance Track compromising of 8 work streams: Global Macroeconomic Policies, Infrastructure Financing, International Financial Architecture, Sustainable Finance, Financial Inclusion, Health Finance, International Taxation, Financial Sector Reforms.
With regards to Sustainable Finance, The G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) was mandated by Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to develop a G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap (“the roadmap”) 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. The SFWG was re-established and elevated under Italy’s 2021 Presidency with the goal of scaling up sustainable finance that supports the objectives of the 2030 Agenda and goals of the Paris Agreement.
The roadmap has 5 Focus areas, wherein the roadmap articulates key priorities and 19 action points to robustly address the following gaps or priorities in scaling up sustainable finance in an internationally coordinated fashion:
The 5 Focus areas and 19 action Points are illustrated in the image below:
In 2023, the first meeting of G20 SFWG under the Indian Presidency was held on 2-3 February 2023 in Guwahati, Assam, India. A G20 Workshop on capacity building of the ecosystem for scaling-up sustainable finance was also held as a side event by inviting leading public and private sector professionals. The Presidency and the co-chairs jointly introduced the 2023 SFWG workplan, on which a broad consensus had been reached at the first Finance and Central Bank Deputies (FCBD) Meeting in Bengaluru in December 2022. The workplan outlined three priority areas of work for the SFWG in 2023:
1. Mechanisms for mobilisation of timely and adequate resources for climate finance
2. Enabling finance for the Sustainable Development Goals
3. Capacity building of the ecosystem for financing toward sustainable development.
The Presidency will report on the key deliverables of the identified priorities in the workplan to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) in their first meeting scheduled in Feb 2023, and seek endorsement on the same by the 3rd FMCBG meeting in July 2023. The Presidency intends to finalize the 2023 G20 Sustainable Finance Report by the 4th SFWG meeting which is presently scheduled in August 2023 just before the Leaders’ Summit.The SFWG will develop a G20 Sustainable Finance Technical Assistance Action Plan (TAAP), that includes identification and analysis of existing capacity-building activities and identifying the existing sustainable finance skill gaps.
The 3rd and the most recent SFWG meeting was held in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, from June 19 to 21, 2023. The agenda was to firm up the deliverables under the identified priority areas, with discussions on recommendations for the mobilisation of timely and adequate resources for climate finance, policy measures, and financial instruments for catalysing the rapid development and deployment of green and low-carbon technologies. On the side-lines of the meeting, the following two workshops was organised: (i) G20 Workshop on policy measures and financial instruments for catalysing the rapid development and deployment of green and low-carbon technologies. (ii) G20 Workshop on transition finance, data and metrics for climate aligned investments and sustainability data issues. During the meeting, the members recommended to develop a pipeline of bankable projects and also promote public-private partnerships in social impact initiatives, and the reiterated role for innovative technologies in scaling up social impact instruments.
The results of the meeting will be further discussed at the 3rd G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies’ meeting and the 3rd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting, which will be held in Gandhinagar next month.
Ambire Global shall be tracking the discussions, and welcomes the G20 Sustainable Finance Technical Assistance Action Plan (TAAP) and the recommendations from the members. Ambire Global has already been implementing capacity-building activities on sustainable finance and working on projects to tackle the existing sustainable finance gaps in around 18 countries around the world. The specific focus of the SFWG meeting and the SFWG roadmap in general, aligns with Ambire Global’s mission to bolster the transition to a circular, equitable, and a net zero world through context specific solutions. We shall provide further updates on the soon to be published 2023 G20 Sustainable Finance Report and the key takeaways from the G20 discussions.
About Ambire Global
Ambire is an innovative venture founded in 2020, providing consulting and digital solutions in sustainable finance, circular economy, and environmental engineering in more than 14 countries. It is headquartered in India and Colombia and is expanding its services globally to support the transition to a fair, equitable, carbon neutral world through efficient and customised solutions.
