LocationsOpening Remarks by Ms Beate Trankmann at the Launch of the China SDG Investor Map Phase II
March 31, 2023
UNDP Resident Representative Beate Trankmann delivers online remarks during the launch of the China SDG Investor Map Phase II at the UN Compound in Beijing, China
尊敬的 屠光绍 理事长（Tu Guangshao, Executive Director of the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, President of Shanghai Finance
Institute (SFI))
尊敬的 张冀华 副会长（Zhang Jihua, Vice Chairman of China Securities Association）
尊敬的 杨华辉 董事长（Yang Huahui, Chairman of Industrial Securities Co., Ltd.）
Mr. Domenico Nardelli from AIIB，
My colleague Fabienne Michaux from UNDP’s SDG Impact Global Initiative,
早上好, 欢迎大家光临今天的发布会现场，感谢各位专家对我们工作的大力支持!
Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning and welcome to the launch event of the China SDG Investor Map Phase II.
Extreme weather events have cost lives and livelihoods in almost every corner of the world – from devastating summer floods in Pakistan to deadly winter storms in the United States. And global CO2 levels are at their highest in history with the world on course to exceed the 1.5 degrees of warming target set by the Paris Agreement by more than double[1]. With as many as 3.6 billion people already living in areas highly vulnerable to climate change[2], the consequences of this would be catastrophic.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – the global goals to protect people and planet by 2030 – are derailing in front of our eyes, and if we are to save them, we must change course now. The latest report from the IPCC released last week, calls for more urgent and ambitious action so that we can still secure a livable future, and emphasizes that time is running out…”2,
Globally, one of the most critical issues limiting progress towards the SDGs has been finance.
The challenge is however not one of availability of funding, but rather how the funding is being prioritized. Redirecting around just 1 percent of global financial assets would be enough to finance the global energy transition needed to keep the goal of 1.5 degrees alive.[3]
This should not be considered a cost. It is an investment in our collective future. Indeed, IRENA predicts that the energy transition could create close to 85 million additional jobs by 2030 - thereby more than offsetting the 12 million lost in fossil fuel and nuclear industries[4].
In addition, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), renewables are now the most inexpensive power option in most regions in the world, which makes the business case for funding the low carbon transition even clearer.
To seize upon this momentum and continue scaling sustainable finance at the speed needed, it will be critical to continue highlighting the potential and opportunities of SDG investment, while helping to alter the way investors perceive risk and opportunity in financial decisions.
In doing this, one significant challenge we face is the lack of information and data on existing and potential investment opportunities in sustainable financing, as well as limited capacity to measure and evaluate investment impact.
The challenge is however not one of availability of funding, but rather how the funding is being prioritized. Redirecting around just 1 percent of global financial assets would be enough to finance the global energy transition needed to keep the goal of 1.5 degrees alive.- Beate Trankmann, UNDP China Resident Representative
To help tackle this challenge, UNDP has developed the SDG Investor Maps – a market intelligence tool to help investors identify investment opportunities with potential to generate both SDG impact and financial returns.
Globally, these Maps have pinpointed over 500 investment opportunities in 29 countries, directing private investors to potential investment opportunities where there is a national sustainable development need and a supporting policy environment.
In China, we started the initiative in 2021. The first phase mapped two sectors that at the time had risen to the top of national priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic - Health and Agriculture.
Today, we are launching a new phase of the Map targeting the Circular Economy and Renewable Energy. These are two sectors at the heart of China’s climate goals to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality before 2060. Utilizing AI and big data, and analyzing policy documents and media releases, the Map identifies 18 Investment Opportunity Areas in these two sectors.
I hope our discussions today can also spark actions across the financial sector and incubate innovation to turn our research results into concrete investments in the low-carbon transition.
Moving forward UNDP remains committed to its goal of mobilising 1 trillion USD worth of public and private finance for the 2030 agenda.[5] In order to get there, we look forward to working together with the private sector, government institutions, and academia, to help facilitate contributions towards advancing the SDGs and boost dedicated financing to address the climate crisis.
In closing, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone for joining us today. In particular, let me extend my sincere thanks to our co-host Industrial Securities, who jointly developed the China Investor Map with UNDP. We also appreciate the technical support from our partner Impact Intelligence, as well as our global team at SDG Impact, UNDP’s flagship initiative to mobilize private capital towards SDGs.
Together, we can still chart a path forward to realize the SDGs, but we need the financing to make it happen, and our window is rapidly closing.
Urgent, and collective actions from all of us have never been more important – to ensure a sustainable future for the planet, ourselves, and future generations!
Thank you!
[1] UN climate report: It’s ‘now or never’ to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees | UN News
[2] WGII Summary for Policymakers Headline Statements | Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (ipcc.ch)
[3] OECD. COVID-19 crisis threatens Sustainable Development Goals financing, https://www.oecd.org/newsroom/covid-19-crisis-threatens-sustainable-development-goals-financing.htm
[4] World Energy Transitions Outlook 2022: 1.5°C Pathway (irena.org)
[5] https://www.undp.org/indonesia/blog/time-deliver-mobilizing-private-capital-scale-sustainable-development
