Antoni Ballabriga, who is the Global Head of Sustainability Intelligence & Advocacy at BBVA and a member of the EU High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Scaling Up Sustainable Finance in Low and Middle-income Countries, explains the main findings and suggestions that the HLEG will present to the European Commission.
The final report from the EU High-Level Expert Group on Scaling up Sustainable Finance in Low and Middle-income Countries (HLEG) mandated by the European Commission is released. The group’s primary tasks were to identify the challenges and opportunities of sustainable finance in low- and middle-income countries and to provide recommendations to the European Commission on how to increase resources from private capital to close the current SDG financing gap and to speed up private financial flows for the implementation of the Global Gateway, the external dimension of the Green Deal to support a green, just and resilient recovery in the EU partner countries.
As mentioned in the report “the sustainability challenge is a global one, requiring global solutions that leave no one behind” and there is a widening global gap in the finance needed for the achievement of the SDGs, estimated last year by the OECD at USD 3.9 trillion per annum. Increasingly stretched public funds and concessional finance are clearly not sufficient to bridge this gap. In my opinion, we need to reimagine how sustainable finance works to attract private capital at scale and provide financial and technical support to all emerging markets and developing economies and ensure a fair and inclusive transition. The EU can play a key role promoting the enabling environment to make it happen.
“The sustainability challenge is a global one, requiring global solutions that leave no one behind”
The HLEG brought together during 18 months a diverse group of 20 international experts representing a broad range of expertise, both financial and non-financial, including EU cross-border investors, local investors, local businesses, civil society, standard-setters and academia. BBVA has had the privilege of being a member and his role has been critical to share the experience and views as a private lending institution with a strong track record in emerging markets and partnering with multilateral development banks.
Commissioner, Ms. Jutta Urpilainen; International Monetary Fund Managing Director, Ms. Kristalina Georgieva; and Senior Director of Policy Influence and Engagement at the WWF, Alice Ruhweza; with members of the High-Level Expert Group.
These are the 10 summarized recommendations to the European Commission included in the report:
Members of the High Level Group included renowned figures in the field, such as Hans-Ulrich Beck, Head of Regulatory Readiness at Sustainalytics; Laetitia Hamon, Head of Sustainable Finance at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange; Judy Kuszewski, former Chair of the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Global Sustainability Standards Board; Elodie Laugel, Chief Responsible Investment Officer at Amundi; Nicola Ranger, Executive Director and Programme Leader at the Oxford University Environmental Change Institute; Alice Ruhweza, Senior Director of Policy Influence and Engagement at the WWF; and Thede Rüst, Head of Emerging Markets Debt at Nordea Asset Management.
