Placing sustainability at the heart of the financial system

The full potential of the financial system will need to be harnessed to deliver the new Sustainable Development Goals and the forthcoming climate change agreement in Paris. The scale of financing required for an orderly transition to a prosperous, low-carbon and resilient economy is measured in the trillions not the billions. This means more capital for assets that protect and enhance natural capital and less for assets that deplete critical life support systems, such as biodiversity, soils, water and the global climate. It is not just the quantum of finance that needs to change – but also its quality so that core financial services are attuned to the ways in which sustainability recasts the traditional risk:reward ratio.