Aligning finance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The Private Finance for Sustainable Development (PF4SD) Conference is an annual OECD event that brings together relevant stakeholders from the public and private sector of developed and developing countries alike to discuss new approaches in financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The 3rd edition of the PF4SD Conference (28-30 January 2020) focused on the theme Aligning finance with the SDGs. Progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda remains slow and uneven: we are now at high risk of missing the mark on several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A major obstacle to advancing SDGs in emerging and developing economies is that most private finance and business activities are neither aligned with SDGs nor compatible with low-emission, climate-resilient development pathways. Every decision we make, every dollar we spend, every product and service we provide can be better aligned with sustainable development outcomes.
The Conference attracted over 600 participants, including policy makers, investors and representatives of corporations, development finance institutions, research centres, foundations, and civil society and more.
High-level speakers included:
Angel Gurria - Secretary General, OECD - read the opening remarks Elliot Harris - Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development and Chief Economist, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) Travis Spence - Managing Director, J.P. Morgan Asset Management Sonja Gibbs -Managing Director and Head of Sustainable Finance, Institute of International Finance Nancy Lee -Senior Policy Fellow, Centre for Global Development Philippe Valahu - Chief Executive Officer, Private Infrastructure and Development Group Sony Kapoor - Managing Director, Re-Define and Judith Karl - Executive Secretary, United Nations Capital Development Fund.
A cross-section of over 600 policy makers from emerging, developing and OECD countries, investors and representatives of corporations, development finance institutions, research centres, foundations, and civil society joined speakers in sharing examples and new insights to identify and scale solutions.