As prepared for delivery

Minister of Finance of South Africa, Your Excellency, Mr. Enoch Godongwana, 

Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Your Excellency, Mr. Lesetja Kganyago,

Distinguished Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the outset, I would like to commend the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group for its ambitious agenda and work programme, which comes at a critical moment for global economic and financial stability.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is honoured to serve as its Secretariat. 

Today’s focus on adaptation finance could not be more pertinent. 

The increasing frequency and intensity of climate-change-induced disasters remind us that climate resilience is not just an environmental necessity but a financial and economic imperative. 

Every $1 invested in infrastructure resilience can yield up to $4 in avoided losses[1], yet adaptation finance still represents only 5%[2] of total climate finance flows. 

Integrating adaptation into financial decisions must become the norm, not the exception.

High-integrity carbon markets can help unlock the trillion-dollar funding gap that developing countries face in implementing their climate commitments. 

However, data fragmentation and inconsistent methodologies risk undermining the integrity of these markets. 

To deliver on the ambitious Working Group’s agenda, UNDP would be pleased to share its experience in supporting governments to establish national carbon registries that are tailored to their specific contexts, ensuring seamless integration with local and international platforms.

As highlighted in the side event earlier this week, maximizing the impact of scarce concessional climate finance is key.[3]

This would benefit from integrated, innovative, and cohesive approaches embodied in sovereign Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs).

This can be supported by a coordinated response from the international community at the country level, including through country-owned and led- platforms, which can be funded by multilateral development banks (MDBs), other international development partners such as multilateral climate funds or national development banks (NDBs), and private sector actors.[4]

Distinguished Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Finally, the upcoming Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville provides a unique opportunity to shape a global financing framework that achieves and renews the objectives of the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap. 

This is a moment to mobilize resources for a greener, more inclusive and more sustainable global economy—one that reflects the spirit of Ubuntu, where people and the planet thrive in tandem.[5]

The agenda of the SFWG –is not an act of faith- but a firmly rooted fiscal and fiduciary agenda that reduces uncertainty and volatility including in financial markets.

Thank you.

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[1] https://climate.axa/publications/building-climate-resilience-infrastructure/ 

[2] https://gca.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/State-and-Trends-in-Climate-Adaptation-Finance-2024.pdf

[3] This was a Finance and Central Bank Deputies (FCBD) side event, opened to SFWG members (i.e., membership of the group which is being discussed during this session). The side event title was: Enhancing the global sustainable finance architecture: Promoting interoperability among PDBs, MDBs, VCEFs and the private sect

[4] Note: There is a current discussion on the use and relevance of INFF (a tool for developing a country-led strategy to increase investments, manage risks and achieve sustainable development priorities, including NDCs) vs 'country platforms'. The latter being a collaborative mechanism suggested by the World Bank some years ago to pool funding for climate action within a country.

[5] Ubuntu is often translated as “I am because we are” or “I am because you are”. This guiding principle will shape South Africa’s approach as it seeks collective solutions to pressing global collective economic and financial challenges.