G20 Sustainable Finance Meeting Agrees on Increasing Accessibility and Affordability of Financing

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Finance)

JAKARTA – The Sustainable Finance Working Group 4 (SFWG 4) meeting under the G20 Indonesia Presidency, which was held in Bali earlier this week, agreed on several strategic points.

Head of the Center for Financing and Multilateral Policy, Fiscal Policy Agency of the Ministry of Finance, Dian Lestari, said the members explored in detail the recommendations for developing a framework to encourage a sustainable financial transition.

"This includes increasing the credibility of the commitments of financial institutions, as well as increasing sustainable financial instruments, including increasing accessibility and affordability", he said in a written statement today, Wednesday, September 28.

According to Dian, another thing to focus on is encouraging financing and investment to support the financial transition, which was also discussed at the 3rd SFWG meeting last June.

"This agreement demonstrates positive collaboration in achieving common goals and producing reports that will significantly contribute to improving public and private sustainable finance globally", he said.

On the same occasion, the Director of International Policy of Bank Indonesia Haris Munandar underlined the importance of the financial transition framework and the credibility of the commitment of financial institutions to achieve the net zero emission target.

"Participants agreed that this progress report will be an important part of the G20 Sustainable Financial Report for the 2022 period", he said.

Meanwhile, Advisor to the Governor of the People's Bank of China, Ma Jun, expressed his gratitude to the Indonesian Presidency in 2022 for the success in achieving the expected results.

"Through a series of serious discussions this year, stakeholders from developed and developing countries around the world are better able to identify solutions to a green transition and a low-carbon future", he said.

Similarly, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the United States Ministry of Finance, Larry Mc Donald, said that the performance of Indonesia and other G20 members showed constructive results this year in advancing the sustainable finance agenda.

"The Indonesian G20 presidency is committed to supporting an orderly, fair and affordable transition according to the 2030 agenda for sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement", he said.

For information, this 4th SFWG meeting follows up on a series of previous SFWG meetings, and the latest directions from the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Banks Meeting (FMCBG).

Meanwhile, at the 3rd FMCBG meeting, the Ministers of Finance and the Governors of the Central Bank expressed their appreciation for the progress made in developing sustainable finance.

The results of the 4th SFWG meeting held September 26-27 will serve as input for the 4th Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting to be held in Washington DC next month, as well as the G20 Leader's Summit. which will be held in Bali in November.