Welcome news from UNEP & Davos

Welcome news from UNEP & Davos:

‘Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System’

There is little doubt that getting to the crux of what it will take to make financial systems work for – rather than against –  our future wellbeing is a major challenge and requires needs international understanding and action.  

As a result sriServices is happy to welcome the news below that UNEP (the United Nations Environment Programme) is looking into this area…

Their recent press release reads as follows:

Davos, 23 January 2014– The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched an Inquiry today into policy options for guiding the global financial system to invest in the transition to a green economy.

In the wake of the global financial crisis, there is growing recognition that the financial system must be not only sound and stable, but also sustainable in the way it enables the transition to a low-carbon, green economy.

The Inquiry, extending over 18 months to mid-2015, aims to engage, inform and guide policy makers, financial market actors and other stakeholders concerned with the health of the financial system and its potential for shaping the future economy.

In addressing its core aim, it will map current best practice, draw together principles and frameworks, catalyze new thinking, and ultimately lay out a series of options for advancing a sustainable financial system.

It will also engage with global financial experts and commission-relevant research, as well as contribute to related initiatives across the UN system and elsewhere.

As leading financial institutions increasingly appreciate the imperative of climate change, resource scarcity and other environmental challenges, the current financial ‘rules of the game’ may not be well suited to accelerate this transition.

•  World Economic Forum estimates suggest that globally, investment in infrastructure of an estimated US$6 trillion annually to 2030 is needed to deliver a low-carbon economy. Of this, nearly US$1 trillion is over and above the business-as-usual trajectory

To read the rest of the article please click here.

(or see full url: http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2758&ArticleID=10698&l=en)