Luxembourg, UN Environment sign deal to accelerate sustainable finance

Luxembourg on Friday April 12, 2019 signed an agreement to back a UN Environment-convened network that helps the world’s major financial centres to increase green and sustainable finance.

The International Network of Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S) has 22 members from Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America – each of them committed to shifting their investments to support the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement.

Home to Europe’s largest investment fund center with a 62 per cent global market share in cross-border funds, along with136 international banks from 29 countries and over 35,000 listed tradable securities, Luxembourg is today one of the world’s leading financial centers.

“A recognized European leader in green and sustainable finance, Luxembourg is stepping up its commitment to support the efforts of the International Network of Financial Centers for Sustainability,” said Pierre Gramegna, Minister of Finance of Luxembourg, as he signed the agreement to provide USD 500,000 in funding to FC4S. “This commitment is aimed at helping the FC4S to better connect financial centers, to foster exchange of knowledge and thus help shaping the trends and developments that will define sustainable finance in the years to come.”

The levels of green and sustainable finance needed to deliver on the Paris Agreement and the sustainable development goals are still insufficient. For example, the World Resources Institute estimates that USD 5.7 trillion will need to be invested annually in green infrastructure by 2020. However, 2018 research by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change found that climate finance, while growing, had hit only USD 681 billion annually by 2016.

“Much of the resources needed to finance the transition to a low-emission, sustainable world will have to come from private sources,” said Satya S. Tripathi, UN Assistant Secretary-General and head of UN Environment’s New York office. “This is why the work of FC4S, helping financial centres to green their flows, is crucial. UN Environment is very grateful to Luxembourg for increasing its commitment to green and sustainable finance.”

Luxembourg’s commitment to financial innovation and sustainable finance has led to the launch of a wide range of initiatives, including  the first Stock Exchange dedicated to green, socially responsible and sustainable securities: The Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX) in 2016.

The LGX has the largest market share of listed green bonds worldwide. Luxembourg leads the European market when it comes to responsible investment funds, with a market share of 39 per cent. 69 per cent of worldwide assets in microfinance investment vehicles are Luxembourg domiciled funds.

“Financial centres are key pressure points in the global financial system, and FC4S members like Luxembourg are pressing hard to make the system sustainable,” said Stephen Nolan, head of the FC4S network. “This contribution from Luxembourg is yet another sign that the smart money is getting behind sustainability.”

The signing took place at an event during the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, at which Mr. Gramegna, John Berrigan, Deputy Director-General, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (FISMA), and Marcos Ayerra, Chair of the Inter-American Regional Committee and others looked at how to increase the role of financial centres in financing sustainability.