LocationsSDG Finance Academy: In-person and online training in sustainable finance
October 2, 2024
UNDP has set a goal to leverage US$1 trillion in spending aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
The SDG Finance Academy is UNDP’s premier platform for sustainable finance training, sharing sustainable finance knowledge and identifying experts to support countries in financing their SDG and NDC targets.
With only six years remaining until 2030 and official development assistance from donor countries rapidly shrinking, the financing gap to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) exceeds US$4.2 trillion per year. If just 1 percent of the estimated $477 trillion in global wealth were aligned with the SDGs, this gap could be filled tomorrow.
Conflict, adverse climate impacts and spiralling inequality serve as pressing reminders that the global financial system is not driving adequate investments in people and the planet.
Already under strain, the global financial system has been hit by multiple shocks in recent years, including the Covid-19 pandemic, from which only half of least-developed countries have recovered to 2019 Human Development Index scores. Many of these countries are also in debt distress: debt payments in least-developed countries are 1.4 times that spent on national healthcare – creating a huge debt burden that prevents countries from investing in their people.
For countries to reach these targets, we need a new financial architecture that drives capital to where it is needed most.
The Academy plays a critical role in building countries' capacity to raise the resources needed to further their development goals.
UNDP’s $1 trillion pledge on financing the SDGs
As the lead UN agency on international development, UNDP has set an ambitious goal of leveraging and aligning $1 trillion towards the SDGs and climate action by 2025. Its sustainable finance experts equip governments, the private sector and other key actors with the tools they need to marshal public and private finance for the SDGs.
These tools include sovereign debt instruments like green and blue bonds, innovative blended finance instruments, SDG impact management and Integrated National Financing Frameworks, to name a few. However, reaching this goal depends on more than in-house expertise; governments, financial institutions, and development partners need a deeper understanding of SDG financing.
The Academy – bringing UNDP’s expertise to all actors
The SDG Finance Academy delivers training in sustainable finance knowledge and assists in identifying experts to support countries in financing their SDG and NDC targets. Its in-person Academies not only disseminate critical knowledge, but also connect practitioners worldwide, providing them with support to employ the instruments and policy reforms used by UNDP’s experts around the world. Through training and outreach, the Academy plays a crucial role in providing expertise for solving the most crucial development challenges the world has faced.
In 2023, the Academy expanded its global presence with an open-access e-Learning Programme, featuring free, self-paced courses in key areas of sustainable finance for the SDGs. Now, the Academy has enhanced the e-Learning experience with a new web portal that provides easier access to the courses. And the Academy is proud to announce the e-Learning Programme’s inclusion in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework e-Learning Platform.
What’s next at the Academy
As part of UNDP’s commitment to reaching everyone, everywhere with sustainable finance knowledge, the e-Learning courses are being translated into French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Russian. The foundational course Introduction to Sustainable Finance and the SDG Finance Academy is already available in all these languages, as well as English.
New courses are currently in development on sustainable finance to solve climate and energy challenges (expected in November in tandem with COP29), and sustainable finance in crisis contexts (in early 2025).
What areas of sustainable finance would you like to explore? Contact lauren.bradford@undp.org to propose future e-Learning courses or to request an in-person SDG Finance Academy tailored to your country or organization.
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