The discussions on the progress so far and actions taken to advance G20 sustainable finance roadmap kicked off here on Wednesday under India’s Presidency when the 4th G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) Meeting started in this holy city to finalise the 2023 G20 Sustainable Finance Report. The discussions in the 4th SFWG meeting in Varanasi, a parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which hosted several G20 working group meetings so far, continued 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 leaders along with two compendia, viz, case studies on financing SDGs and on non-price policy levers to support sustainable investments. Furthermore, the key highlight of the 4th SFWG meeting will be reflections and sharing of experiences by G20 members and IOs on the progress made in the implementation of the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap.
The 4th G20 SFWG meeting under India’s G20 Presidency will also bring together over 80 delegates from G20 member countries, special invitee countries and international organisations. This 4th and the last meeting will focus on finalising the 2023 G20 Sustainable Finance Report and also discuss the progress made by jurisdictions, IOs and relevant stakeholders against the actions listed out in the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap.
The main purpose of the SFWG is 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 working group was co-chaired by USA and China and UNDP serves as the secretariat. Three priority areas have been outlined for the SFWG under India’s G20 Presidency, viz, mechanisms for mobilisation of timely and adequate resources for climate finance; enabling finance for the sustainable development goals (SDGs); and 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 New Delhi Leader’s Declaration 2023 which was adopted in the Leaders’ Summit held recently, has welcomed the work undertaken by the SFWG under India’s G20 presidency. Leaders welcomed the recommendations on the mechanisms to mobilise resources for climate finance, scaling up blended finance and enhanced 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. Leaders welcomed the Analytical Framework for SDG-aligned finance and recommendations for scaling-up adoption of social impact investment instruments and improving nature-related data and reporting. Further, leaders also endorsed the multi-year G20 Technical Assistance Action Plan (TAAP) and the voluntary recommendations made to overcome data-related barriers to climate investments.