While a daunting $90 trillion would be required to tackle sustainable development challenges in the coming years, speakers at today's General Assembly Action Event warned that the cost of inaction would ultimately be far deeper, with humanity's very future hanging in the balance.
Executives from various financial firms - including JP Morgan Chase and AVIVA Investors - joined Member States at the Assembly's 'SDG Financing Lab', discussing ways to align financial markets with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Speakers from across those diverse sectors agreed that private investment in development could be scaled up dramatically by reducing risk and educating companies about the bottom-line benefits of sustainability.
However, many delegates also voiced concern that those opportunities could be overshadowed by a rising tide of nationalism and a resurgence of protectionist policies around the globe. Some urged Governments to resist those trends, calling instead for open, inclusive markets to help level the playing field.
