3rd G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group in Chennai to focus on finalising recommendations of SFWG work plan

The third edition of the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group under India’s Presidency of the forum, scheduled to be held between June 19 and 21 here, would focus on the discussions for finalising the key recommendations set out in the SFWG 2023 work plan.

Around 100 delegates from G20 member countries were expected to take part in the event that would be held in the popular tourist destination Mahabalipuram. Mahabalipuram is located on the scenic East Coast Road, about 50 kilometres south of Chennai, which is home to the iconic Shore Temple, also declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The first two meetings of the SFWG were held in Guwahati and Udaipur, respectively. “During the third meeting (Chennai), the focus will be to steer discussions for finalising the recommendations for key deliverables set out in the SFWG 2023 work plan. The draft has been circulated to the membership ahead of the meeting,” an official release said.

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The SWFG has been working on priority areas to advance actions envisaged in the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap. The action plan includes — mechanisms for the mobilisation of timely and adequate resources for climate finance, enabling financing for sustainable development goals, and capacity building of the ecosystem for financing toward sustainable development. Observing that the demand for capacity building for sustainable finance has been increasing, the release said there were substantial knowledge gaps, limited technical assistance, and a lack of coordination.

“The SFWG, under the Indian Presidency, is developing a set of voluntary recommendations as part of the deliverables for 2023 to address the challenges,” it said. The views put forth by the members and negotiations that emerge in the Chennai edition would be discussed during the third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in July. Two workshops have been organised to enable sharing of knowledge and technical expertise from high-profile speakers from academia and think tanks to provide insights on various topics during the event, the release said.