Public development banks: towards higher climate ambition
Next week, representatives of public development banks and their stakeholders will gather in Cape Town for the 5th Finance in Common Summit (FiCS), to discuss how public development banks can align all their activities with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, and the Global Biodiversity Framework. As the global network of public development banks, Finance in Common represents about 10% of total global development investments each year, which must all align with sustainable development pathways. This year, the discussions at FiCS will take place while South Africa hosts the first meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, with a focus on solidarity, equality, and sustainability.
At I4CE, we are working on several fronts to contribute to these discussions. Firstly, an ongoing study explores how public development banks can leverage financial intermediation towards low-emissions and climate resilient development; the preliminary findings from this research will be shared in a consultative workshop at FiCS. Secondly, together with other think tanks and research organisations, we developed a policy bulletin highlighting recommendations for public development banks on how to accelerate their contribution to climate and development objectives. Thirdly, along with other partners, we are developing a framework to track the progress of G20 countries on sustainable finance policies, with a focus on accountability of public actors – including finance ministries, central banks, regulators, supervisors, and national development banks, among others.
Aside from these ongoing research projects, we are also closely connected to the Finance in Common system. Through the FiCS Global Research Network, we support and facilitate, together with WRI, exchanges between researchers and practitioners on sustainable and solidarity investments. Also, through the Mainstreaming Climate in Financial Institutions initiative, we will keep striving over the next few years to advance discussions on Paris alignment and public development banks’ climate ambition, as part of the FiCS coalition on “Aligning financial chains with the Paris Agreement”.
