The UN Global Compact gathered 50 global CEOs, government representatives, and UN leaders at an event in New York earlier this week to seek to accelerate private investment toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The UN Global Compact Private Sector Forum (PSF), which welcomed representatives from businesses with a collective market capitalisation of $2 trillion, featured high-level discussions on core transition topics such as food systems, energy, digital access, education, jobs, and climate and biodiversity.
The closed-door roundtable, which was held at the UN headquarters, ‘underscored that collaboration between business and the multilateral system is indispensable amid climate disruption, technological transformation and geopolitical headwinds’, UN Global Compact said in a statement.
Just transition
Opening the forum, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, warned that momentum on the 2030 Agenda is showing signs of weakening, requiring a ‘step-change’ in both funding and follow through, to address a yearly SDG shortfall of over $4 trillion.
“We have more than enough capital globally to fund a just transition […] but we need greater political will, and bold, accountable leadership from governments and business,” Guterres said.
Business as usual
According to the UN Global Compact, continuing with ‘business as usual’ could cost five times more than the investment required to limit global warming to 1.5°C. At the same time, sustainable solutions across food, water, health and climate could unlock $10 trillion in opportunities and create nearly 400 million jobs by 2030.
‘With more than $200 trillion in private assets worldwide, the capital exists – what’s needed is policy clarity, credible pipelines and partnerships that can crowd investment into priority regions at speed,’ it noted.
The forum coincided with the United Nations’ 80th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative with a global network of companies committed to responsible business.
As it noted, sentiment remains strong among senior managers, with 88% of CEOs reporting that the business case for sustainability is stronger today than five years ago. Read more here.
