Collaboration and ESG language to unlock funding for sustainable infrastructure projects

September 5, 2023

Developing countries face many challenges in mobilising private sector investment for sustainable infrastructure projects. Solutions include international cooperation and common environmental, social and governance (ESG) taxonomies. To close the climate finance gap, we need additional private investment especially in low- and middle-income countries.

To serve this purpose, Multilateral development banks (MDBs) are encouraged to expand their support for sustainable infrastructure projects and increase their risk appetite. Furthermore, collaboration among G20 public development banks (PDBs) is encouraged to leverage their strengths and promote transformative impact.

A common ESG language will also help standardise assessments of sustainable investments, reduce greenwashing and attract specialised capital. The G20 is called upon to strengthen institutional networks among developing countries, to strengthen the PDBs, and to create a universal ESG taxonomy for sustainable finance.

Ultimately, the recommendations in this paper aim to contribute to a more sustainable global economy by fostering cooperation, reducing investment risks, and accelerating the flow of funds to sustainable infrastructure projects.

Speakers
Sabrine Emran
Economist
Sabrine Emran is a Finance graduate specializing in financial markets and commodities. She holds a Grande Ecole master’s degree in Management from IESEG School of Management and ISCAE Group, as well as a Specialized master’s degree in Financial Markets from Paris Dauphine University and ENSAE ParisTech. Sabrine Emran started her career in investment writing and product development in the asset management branches of insurance companies and investment banks in Paris, working mainly on alternative investment asset classes. She was also recently a commodities analyst, focusing on risk management strategies for energy and agricultural commodities as well as foreign exchange risks. Sabrine Emran joined the Policy Center for the New south in September 2022 as an economist where she ...

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    Pierre Jacquemot
    December 26, 2019
    Depuis 2000, selon une approche et un calendrier qui ont été maintes fois modifiés, les 15 membres de la Communauté Économique des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CEDEAO) ont exprimé leur volonté d’accélérer le processus d’intégration monétaire dans la région. Le récent débat autour de la Zone franc et sa réforme, désormais décidée avec la France, mais également l’enthousiasme manifesté autour de la création de la Zone de libre-échange continentale (ZLEAf) formellement créée le 30 ma ...
  • Authors
    Naakoshie Mills
    December 24, 2019
    In September 2018, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, declared 2019 “The Year of Return” for African descendants’ travel to Ghana, symbolizing 400 years since the first enslaved African arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. His announcement garnered positive reactions from the African American community in the United States and served to further inculcate linkages between Africans and their Diasporan counterparts. President Akufo-Addo follows a rich history of pan-Africanism on t ...
  • Authors
    Sabine Cessou
    December 24, 2019
    Elle avait 31 ans et venait tout juste de monter le New Work Lab au Maroc, en 2013, un espace de coworking et accélérateur de start-ups, quand elle a été sélectionnée pour faire partie des Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders. Fatim Zahra Biaz avait déjà tout un parcours, qui correspondait à sa quête de sens dans le travail : diplômée de l’Edec, une école de commerce à Lille, elle avait travaillé à Paris dans le monde du conseil en « change managagement ». « Je ne sentais pas l’impa ...
  • Authors
    Sabine Cessou
    December 24, 2019
    She was 31 years old and had just set up the New Work Lab, a coworking and start-up accelerator space, in Morocco in 2013, when she was selected as one of the Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders. Fatim Zahra Biaz already had an extensive professional background, which reflected her quest for meaning in work: a graduate of Edec, a business school in Lille, she had worked in Paris in "change management" consulting. "I couldn't sense the impact I was looking for in my work, be it econ ...
  • December 19, 2019
    Emerging market and developing economies: Engine of the global economic growth despite some vulnerabilities1 After a long spell of slow growth post-crisis, the global economy’s recovery was mainly supported by the improvement of emerging markets and developing economies growth. However, this recovery is subject to wide-ranging uncertainties and is now in some danger. According to the IMF, the global economic growth is expected to fall to 3 % in 2019, the lowest level since 2008. Th ...
  • Authors
    Numéro spécial du cahier du plan - Volume 2
    December 18, 2019
    Lors du colloque autour du thème « Croissance économique au Maroc : théories, évidences et leçons des expériences récentes », organisé conjointement par le Haut-Commissariat au Plan (HCP) et le Policy Center for the New South et accueilli par le HCP en mai 2017 dans ses locaux à Rabat, des experts et praticiens de près de 30 institutions académiques et non académiques ont échangé et débattu de la croissance économique au Maroc dans un framework transverse alliant le théorique au pra ...
  • December 17, 2019
    Across Africa, many rural communities still depend on manual and animal power for their farm needs, whether it is for production, harvesting or postharvest activities. In fact, in sub-Saharan Africa, engine power represents a meagre 10 per cent of all energy used on farms, compared to 50 per cent in developing regions. Without access to mechanised tools and technologies, farming is a tough, laborious and time-consuming process. Farmers are often left with small harvests, low income ...
  • December 17, 2019
    L’Inde est confrontée, aujourd’hui, à plusieurs défis énergétiques : - Assurer la sécurité énergétique du pays, en généralisant l’accès pour tous à l’électricité. Ce qui n’est pas le cas en 2019. - Le faire en réduisant sa dépendance aux énergies fossiles, afin de mieux répondre aux orientations des Conférences des parties, COP 21 et COP 22. Pour cela, les autorités gouvernementales vont mener, dès 1981, une réflexion sur les énergies renouvelables, les conduisant à privilégier l ...
  • December 14, 2019
    Moderator Alan Kasujja, Lead Presenter, Newsday, BBC News Speakers Rym Ayadi, Founder and Scientific Director, Euro-Mediterranean Network for Economic Studies – EMNES Otaviano Canuto, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South Harinder Kohli, Founding Director and Chief Executive, E...
  • December 14, 2019
    Moderator John Yearwood, President and CEO, Yearwood Media Group Speakers Uri Dadush, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South Matthias Fekl, Former Minister for Foreign Trade, France Renato Flôres, Director, International Intelligence Unit, Fundação Getulio Vargas ...