SWFG holds first meeting under Indonesia's G20 Presidency

Jakarta, January 26 (ANTARA) - The Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) held its first meeting under Indonesia's G20 Presidency through a virtual event held by the Finance Ministry and Bank Indonesia (BI) on January 25, 2022. The meeting commenced with a remark by the Finance Ministry's official, Dian Lestari, who highlighted the importance of creating an environment that could help the finance market support the efforts to achieve the Paris Agreement and Agenda 2030 goals. "Discussion over public policies that encourage financing and investment is crucial in supporting a fair and affordable transition," she noted in an official statement on Wednesday. This first SFWG meeting was led by SFWG's co-chairs, the United States and China, and was moderated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as the secretariat to discuss SFWG's 2022 work plan. The discussed SFWG work plan includes the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap advancement report supported by the Finance Minister and G20 Central Bank Governor on October 2021. The report will include monitoring over actions taken by G20 members voluntarily both in finance track and sherpa track, international organizations, network, and other international initiatives. The monitoring is conducted by observing whether the actions are in accordance with the details in the road map. In addition, the current SFWG meeting discussed three 2022 work plan topics, including the development of transitional finance and bolstering the credibility of finance institutions' commitment. This framework aims to help the finance market support global economic transition. Meanwhile, bolstering the credibility of finance institutions' commitment, in this case, the private sector, is done by formulating the best practice in the implementation of net-zero financing commitment and other related financing. The second topic concerns improving the sustainable financing instrument that focuses on accessibility and affordability, including the global sustainable finance market and the risk-reducing mechanism for a sustainable finance instrument. In addition, addressing the knowledge gap concerning the sustainable finance instrument, specifically for stakeholders in developing countries and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The third pertains to public policies that encourage financing and investment that support transition, especially regarding the impact of public policies on the finance market and policy options that take into account the diverse conditions of each nation. The first SFWG meeting was attended by all G20 members, invited nations, and international organizations. The result of the meeting will be brought to the discussion on the second Finance and Central Bank Deputies meeting and the first Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting in February 2022.