The coronavirus crisis and subsequent economic shock will be the focus on international cooperation for the immediate future. This is both an opportunity, as it is forcing a search for innovative new solutions and international cooperation to meet people’s financial needs digitally, and a risk if the climate crisis, biodiversity, gender equality and other critical areas of the SDGs get moved to the ‘back burner’.
Digital is emerging as an important enabler of the international sustainable finance agenda. As the then-IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde said in relation to digital finance’s potential to open up access to financial services. “All countries are trying to reap these benefits, while also mitigating the risks. We need greater international cooperation to achieve that, and to make sure the fintech revolution benefits the many and not just the few.” It has become a key part of the work of the UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, the G20’s Global Partnership on Financial Inclusion (GPFI) and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. The G20 under Argentina’s Presidency for the first time considered the nexus between sustainable development and digital financing as part of its Sustainable Finance Study Group, building on the exploration under the German G20 Presidency of the use of publicly available environmental data in encouraging the greening of finance. The European Commission plans to integrate digital financing into the second generation of its sustainable finance strategy.
The Task Force recommends:
Developing a principle-based approach for governance – integrating the SDGs into digital finance policy
Strengthening inclusive governing of global digital platforms
Corporate governance innovations for global digital platforms
Next Steps: Leverage the Task Force pathfinder initiatives to integrate SDG considerations into digital finance governance and regulations at national, regional and international levels. Secretary General to call on corporate and financial sector leaders to introduce governance innovations that ensure effective integration of SDG concerns into company strategies and operations.
The coronavirus crisis and subsequent economic shock will be the focus on international cooperation for the immediate future. This is both an opportunity, as it is forcing a search for innovative new solutions and international cooperation to meet people’s financial needs digitally, and a risk if the climate crisis, biodiversity, gender equality and other critical areas of the SDGs get moved to the ‘back burner’.
Digital is emerging as an important enabler of the international sustainable finance agenda. As the then-IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde said in relation to digital finance’s potential to open up access to financial services. “All countries are trying to reap these benefits, while also mitigating the risks. We need greater international cooperation to achieve that, and to make sure the fintech revolution benefits the many and not just the few.” It has become a key part of the work of the UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, the G20’s Global Partnership on Financial Inclusion (GPFI) and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. The G20 under Argentina’s Presidency for the first time considered the nexus between sustainable development and digital financing as part of its Sustainable Finance Study Group, building on the exploration under the German G20 Presidency of the use of publicly available environmental data in encouraging the greening of finance. The European Commission plans to integrate digital financing into the second generation of its sustainable finance strategy.
The Task Force recommends:
Developing a principle-based approach for governance – integrating the SDGs into digital finance policy
Strengthening inclusive governing of global digital platforms
Corporate governance innovations for global digital platforms
Next Steps: Leverage the Task Force pathfinder initiatives to integrate SDG considerations into digital finance governance and regulations at national, regional and international levels. Secretary General to call on corporate and financial sector leaders to introduce governance innovations that ensure effective integration of SDG concerns into company strategies and operations.
