Event organized by Citi Bank

Ladies and Gentlemen:

A warm welcome to the heart of International Geneva, the Palais des Nations! It is probably no coincidence that the organizers of EuroFinance have chosen this city for their annual conference, as it is the place where finance and international work come together in a unique way.

Geneva is the city of finance. The financial sector generates 35,600 jobs and accounts for 12% of Geneva’s GDP. At the same time, International Geneva is characterized by the more than 100 international organizations based here, the representations of more than 179 Member States and the more than 400 NGOs who engage in international negotiations. Add to this the significant presence of academic institutions, think tanks and the vibrant private sector with more than 1,600 multinational companies and you have a unique ecosystem touching upon all aspects of our daily lives, everywhere in the world every day.

There may have been a time, when Geneva, the city of finance, and Geneva, the city of multilateralism, where worlds apart. Today, actors of both communities pull in the same direction, jointly making this the city of peace, rights and well-being. This is a recent development. What happened?.

We live in a time, when climate change makes each succeeding year hotter than the previous one. Millions of people and trillions of assets are at risk from rising sea levels to droughts. The impact of extreme natural disasters is equivalent to a global USD 520 billion loss in annual consumption, according to a World Bank report. Unresolved conflicts provide fertile ground for violent extremism and drive migratory movements on an unprecedented scale. One UN study has estimated that current violent conflicts come at an estimated cost of USD 14 trillion a year, or 13.4% of global GDP. These are just some examples of the challenges of our time.

These and other global challenges need a global answer. No country is big enough to solve the migration or global warming challenges. And no-one is too small to be left out because in our connected world, even a small action anywhere in the world impacts people and countries on the other side of the globe. Aware of this fact, our political leaders agreed on a common plan. In 2015, they adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, our joint road map for humanity, containing 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The private sector, governments, civil society and other actors were sitting at the table to develop these goals. The private sector will also play a crucial role in the implementation of these goals. And there are many good reasons why the private sector should help implement the 2030 Agenda – one of the reasons is very simple – it’s good business:

- Firstly, you can only achieve long-term success if you operate in an economically stable, politically sound and socially cohesive environment.
- Secondly, implementing the SDGs is estimated to require investments of an additional USD 2.4 trillion per year. That’s investments in low-carbon infrastructure, energy, agriculture, health and education, to name just a few. This is a tremendous business opportunity.
- Thirdly, companies that put sustainability at the core of what they do outperform those that don’t. Millennials, who are just moving into their prime spending years, want to invest, consume, live and work sustainably. Business can help them achieve this aspiration, and they will in many cases wither if they don’t.

Thanks to this Zeitgeist, driven further as SDG implementation is picking up speed, I am fascinated to see that partnerships are happening like never before, especially between the UN and the private sector. We are beginning to talk to each other like we haven’t in decades, if ever.

This ever-closer cooperation of the UN has taken its beginning with the Global Compact. By signing up, companies align their strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and take actions that advance societal goals. Today, 9,867 companies in 164 countries have committed to this Compact.

In 2010, Citi was the first international bank to subscribe to the UN Global Compact. Today you embrace the SDGs into your operations, supporting seven of them with concrete projects. For example, your bank committed to lending, investing and facilitating USD 100 billion over ten years toward activities that reduce the impact of climate change. Under the headline of “Citi for Cities” you provide expertise on bond issuances, digital payments and risk management to help urban leaders meet SDG 9 to upgrade industrial infrastructure and SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities.

Examples of sustainable private sector initiatives abound. The green bond market has grown in value to more than USD 100 billion. Positive impact financing has become the new norm. Here in Geneva, the Sustainable Finance Geneva initiative and the UN’s SDG Lab have joined forces to find innovative solutions to SDG financing.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The Sustainable Development Goal 17 reminds us of the need of partnerships, the red threat of what we need to do over the years to come. Let us use tonight to move this collaboration to the next level. In twelve years from now, in 2030, we will all have to justify what we have done to keep our planet as a place worth living in. We will be scrutinized by our shareholders as much as by our stakeholders. We will be held accountable by our clients and even more so by our children.

I thank you for your visit to the Palais des Nations and your interest in the work of the United Nations. I look forward to our further collaboration, here in Geneva and around the world.

Please enjoy your evening.