Guterres urges responsible investors to back sustainable development

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged investors to use their influence to support sustainable development, saying investment aligned with environmental, social and governance factors can help tackle challenges including underdevelopment and climate change while opening opportunities for growth. [1]

In a video message to the Principles for Responsible Investment’s 20th annual conference in Amsterdam on 13 October, Guterres said the group’s members collectively managed more than $135 trillion in assets. He encouraged investors to direct capital towards emerging economies, particularly in renewable energy, technology and critical minerals, with benefits shared by local communities. [1]

Guterres also pointed to the Sevilla Commitment, agreed last year, as a roadmap for increasing development finance. Its measures include mobilising more domestic resources, expanding capital flows to emerging economies, strengthening multilateral development banks so they can reduce risks for private investors while preserving concessional funding for countries in need, and creating a debt framework aimed at preventing crises and lowering borrowing costs. [1]

He said achieving these goals required reform of the international financial architecture and greater participation by developing countries. “Lead with ambition,” he told investors, urging them to seek opportunities to align investment with impact. [1]