Social Good Summit

Excellences,
Ladies and gentlemen,

My sincere gratitude to UNDP for inviting me to today’s third iteration of the Social Good Summit. It is most fitting that you have taken an event that originated in New York and put a Geneva spin on it, by focusing on the issue of sustainable finance.

This is most timely especially as this week we have the World Investment Forum, which has brought 5000 finance and investment professionals from around the world to our city.

The shores of Lake Geneva are home to over 100 international organizations, some 400 NGOs, representatives of 179 States, a vibrant private sector and world-class academic institutions. It is this broader ecosystem in which they can incubate and execute ideas – the diversity of voices across disciplines, professions and geographies – that makes Geneva such a unique environment to transcend old divides and forge new synergies.

I have not seen this keenness for finding synergies, for breaking down silos and erasing outdated divides since I joined the UN almost 40 years ago.

The primary inspiration and integrative force behind this is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – which really has become our global roadmap. The 2030 Agenda and the 17 goals have all the necessary ingredients to create a better world – if implemented equitably, in time, globally.

On the other hand, however, I share our Secretary-General’s impatience for a change of gear. We have hit the post-2015 ground walking; we need to pick up the pace and start running towards 2030. The magnitude of our challenges has yet to be met by the measure of our actions

To that end, I cannot stress enough the importance of the role of the finance sector in reaching the SDGs by 2030. The United Nations Conference for Trade and Development estimates that between US$5 to $7 trillion per year are needed to reach the SDGs. Unfortunately, developing countries see a funding gap of some $2.5 trillion per year. Recent donor data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development shows us that the total official development assistance (ODA) has stagnated somewhere between $140 and 150 billion per year.
It is clear that ODA will not get us to where we need to be; we must think beyond aid, to private finance and to unlocking developing countries’ own resources.

This is where each of your talents come in; we need your spirit of innovation and creativity to face up to these challenges. We as a community cannot simply tinker at the margins of our global financial system, we must transform it so that it works for sustainable development and produces real impact, for those who need it most.

On the topic of impact, it is wonderful to have the Accelerate 2030 social entrepreneurs join us today from Ghana, Columbia, Brazil, Rwanda and the Ukraine. You provide incredible examples of how businesses can contribute to the SDGs – making a business model work while having impact in communities.

As I close, I would like to wish you all a great afternoon of networking.

The Meet and Connect event this afternoon is hosted by the Geneva Sustainable Finance Collaboration – a collaboration convened by the SDG Lab in my Office along with IISD and Sustainable Finance Geneva.

The collaboration aims to bring the two sides of Lake Geneva closer together to produce new models for finance to accelerate implementation of the SDGs.
We recognize that this kind of ambition and action-oriented collaboration begins with strong relationships and thus I hope you each take full advantage of the afternoon that awaits you.

I thank you for your continued commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Bon appetit.