Oversubscribed SDG-Linked Bond Signals Market Readiness for Sustainable Investing, Deputy Secretary-General Tells Financing for Development Luncheon Event

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the luncheon of the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development in New York today:

It is my pleasure to join you for this discussion.  I thank Canada and Ghana for their work as co-facilitators.  I would also like to acknowledge the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the Task Force on Digital Financing of the SDGs, the Global Partnerships Forum and Ecology International.

I hope that when we look back on this week, we will see it is an inflection point for financing climate action and sustainable development.  The private sector is increasingly committed to the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement.

I am encouraged to see the progress being made by the private sector to align your investment strategies with the SDGs.  Last Sunday, 130 banks from 49 countries holding assets of over $47 trillion signed the Principles of Responsible Banking, committing to align their business strategies with the SDGs.  Earlier this month an SDG-linked bond valued at $1.5 billion was issued for the first time.  This was oversubscribed by almost three times, signalling that the market is ready for sustainable investing.

To scale these investments and go from the billions to trillions we need to achieve the SDGs, we need greater collaboration and the necessary enabling environment.  More needs to be done.  We have the knowledge, tools and the wealth.  We have to put all this together to meet the scope of the challenge.  Change requires leadership and partnership.  Governments need to create incentives for long-term market investment in sustainable development and align economic and financial policies, and trade and investment agreements and regulations, with the SDGs.

It is absolutely crucial to end illicit financial flows, which rob developing countries of more money than they receive.  We also need to face the new challenge of taxation in the digital economy, and we look to you to scale up green and sustainable financial instruments.  We count on the financial industry to engage with fossil fuel companies, divest from those unwilling to shift their business models towards a low-carbon trajectory, and increase investment in renewable energy.  Financing must be front and centre as we begin the Decade of Action to deliver the SDGs by 2030.

We look forward to working with you to seize the opportunities of the digital revolution.  Digital advances have helped us to make real progress in reducing poverty and advancing prosperity.  The benefits must be equally shared.  Half the world’s population still lacks access to broadband Internet.  The more prosperity becomes dependent upon connectivity, the more they risk being left behind.  Financial technology has expanded financial services to hundreds of millions of previously unbanked people, most of them low-income people in developing countries.  The Secretary-General’s Task Force on Digital Financing of the SDGs is exploring how to do even more, and you will hear more about its work from Achim Steiner and Maria Ramos today.

Your presence here for this year’s high-level week sends a powerful signal, confirming the growing interest of the private sector in sustainable investing.  To seize this opportunity, the Secretary-General has established a CEO-led initiative – the Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance – which will be launched on 16 October in New York.  The Alliance aims to harness the insights of business leaders to identify solutions.

I look forward to hearing more about how each of you is contributing to make the SDGs a reality for everyone, everywhere.

Thank you.