Calling for Sustainable Development Goals Stimulus Package, Secretary-General Warns Finance Forum Window to Prevent Climate Catastrophe ‘Is Fast Closing’

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the International Finance Forum Annual Meeting F20 [Foundation Platform] Summit, in Guangzhou, China, today:

I am pleased to greet this important Summit.  Our world is at a precarious moment.  The window to prevent climate catastrophe is fast closing.  Countries are grappling with a cost-of-living crisis, rising interest rates and a looming recession.  The Sustainable Development Goals are slipping out of reach.  The most vulnerable are being hit the hardest.

We need an unprecedented global investment push.  That is why I have called for an SDG [Sustainable Development Goals] stimulus package:  to provide countries of the Global South with adequate liquidity, including through increased funding from Multilateral Development Banks, and a wider reallocation of special drawing rights; to ensure concessional financing to middle income countries in distress; and to create effective mechanisms for debt relief and restructuring.

Everyone must play their part and fully align their business models with the 2030 Agenda and climate goals.  International financial institutions and development banks must adjust their approach to risk and systematically leverage private finance for developing countries at reasonable costs.

Public and private investors must phase out fossil fuels and triple their investments in renewable energy, to reach $4 trillion annually by 2030.  Financing for climate action must go hand in hand with financing for a just transition — including through investments in universal social protection, decent job creation and re-skilling programmes for the new economy.

We must increase transparency and accountability to measure progress towards the SDGs and a net-zero future.  There is no room for any form of greenwashing.  As we look ahead, we must transform the international financial architecture to serve the needs of today, so that it contributes to reducing inequalities and restoring trust between developed countries and emerging economies.

Together, we can meet this moment and build a sustainable, just and prosperous future.  I wish you a productive meeting.  Thank you.