Back

Collaboration and ESG language to unlock funding for sustainable infrastructure projects

September 5, 2023
Related topics: 
Economy

Developing countries face many challenges in mobilising private sector investment for sustainable infrastructure projects. Solutions include international cooperation and common environmental, social and governance (ESG) taxonomies. To close the climate finance gap, we need additional private investment especially in low- and middle-income countries.

To serve this purpose, Multilateral development banks (MDBs) are encouraged to expand their support for sustainable infrastructure projects and increase their risk appetite. Furthermore, collaboration among G20 public development banks (PDBs) is encouraged to leverage their strengths and promote transformative impact.

A common ESG language will also help standardise assessments of sustainable investments, reduce greenwashing and attract specialised capital. The G20 is called upon to strengthen institutional networks among developing countries, to strengthen the PDBs, and to create a universal ESG taxonomy for sustainable finance.

Ultimately, the recommendations in this paper aim to contribute to a more sustainable global economy by fostering cooperation, reducing investment risks, and accelerating the flow of funds to sustainable infrastructure projects.

Speakers
Sabrine Emran
Senior Economist
Sabrine Emran is a Senior Economist at the Policy Center for the New South (PCNS).At the PCNS, Sabrine Emran conducts research on the Energy Transition, Climate Finance, and Critical Minerals, focusing on the energy priorities of developing countries in the context of sustainable development, just energy transition, and global climate commitments.Before joining the PCNS in 2022, Sabrine Emran worked as a Commodities Analyst and Risk Management Consultant, specializing in agricultural and energy commodities as well as foreign exchange risk. She also held a position at Lyxor Asset Management as Request for Proposal and Product Specialist, where she focused on alternative investment asset classes and collaborated closely with institutional investors.Sabrine Emran holds a master’s ...

RELATED CONTENT

  • From

    11
    10:00 am November 2026

    Parlons Développement – 25ème édition : Des compétences aux opportunités professionnelles dans la région de l’Oriental

    Depuis 2021, le Policy Center for the New South, le Programme des Nations Unies pour le développement et le Groupe de la Banque mondiale portent conjointement l’initiative « Parlons Développement », une plateforme de réflexion collective sur les enjeux du développement durable au Maroc. Organisée avec différents partenaires, notamment du monde académique et de la société civile, cette plateforme destinée à la jeunesse vise à rapprocher les débats stratégiques de ses préoccupations et à favoriser le dialogue autour de réponses concrètes aux défis du développement.Dans cette continuité, la 25ᵉ édition de « Parlons Développement », organisée en partenariat avec la Faculté des Sciences Juridiques, Économiques et Sociales de l’Université Mohammed Premier d’Oujda, sera consacrée au ...
  • Download PDF
    Breaking the School Dropout Trap: From Multidimensional Risks to Integrated Public Policy Solutions
    Authors
    Aziz Ajbilou
    Tayeb Ghazi
    Ouidade Sabri
    November 4, 2026
    School dropout remains a major challenge for education systems and public policy, with lasting consequences for human capital, labor market integration, social cohesion, and long-term economic growth. Despite sustained efforts to expand access to schooling, many countries continue to experience high dropout rates, particularly at key transition points in lower- and uppersecondary education. Policy responses have often relied on fragmented, sector-specific interventions—addressing ed ...
  • Regionalism and G20 Support for Neighboring Non-G20 Developing Countries
    Authors
    Bambang Brodjonegoro
    Karim El Aynaoui
    November 2, 2026
    This policy note was published as part of the T20 U.S. 2026 Workstreams, under the workstream “Fostering Trade and People-Centered Economic Growth,” which brings together policy experts to develop recommendations for G20 policymakers. The Group of Twenty (G20) accounts for most of the world’s output, yet its decisions shape the prospects of 174 United Nations Member States without G20 membership, among them the great majority of least developed countries and small states. Many ...
  • Download PDF
    The Multiple Costs of the US–Iran War - From Hormuz to Europe and South Asia: the widening economic and political geography of the conflict
    Authors
    Ferid Belhaj
    October 29, 2026
    Wars are decided by those who hold military power, but their costs are increasingly borne by those who have little or no voice in the decisions that start them. The US–Iran war shows this imbalance very clearly. Its economic consequences have gone far beyond the battlefield and have disrupted energy markets, trade routes, food supplies, public finances and investment in the Gulf, Europe, Africa and Asia. The most striking feature of the conflict, however, is not only the size of the ...
  • Download PDF
    FOOD SECURITY SITUATION AND CHALLENGES UNDER THE THREAT OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE
    Authors
    Isabelle Tsakok
    October 27, 2026
    Mozambique’s extractive-industry development model is a textbook case of how enormous FDI funds derived from its rich mineral base have not been leveraged to   promote inclusive economic growth and generate food security for all. It is a textbook case of the resource curse.  Instead, only a few have benefitted, leaving the poor and vulnerable, who constitute the vast majority, to struggle unassisted. These include smallholders in subsistence-oriented agriculture ...
  • Robert E .Hall et Michael Woodford, Prix Nobel d’Économie 2026
    Authors
    Henri-Louis Védie
    October 26, 2026
    Depuis que l’économie a été reconnue par les Nobel en 1969, il revient à cette discipline de clore les cérémonies annuelles d’attribution des Prix aux lauréats. C’est le 12 octobre 2026 que le jury du prix de la Banque de Suède, en sciences économiques en mémoire d’Alfred Nobel, a consacré deux Américains Prix Nobel de l’économie : Robert E. Hall et MichaelWoodford, pour leur contribution aux « fondements microéconomiques de la stabilisation macroéconomique de la stab ...
  • The Global Costs of Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz
    By Raouiae Khouyi & Mehran Haghirian
    October 23, 2026
    In this episode, Mehran Haghirian explores the global economic consequences of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, beyond oil and gas. He examines their impact on trade, fertilizer suppl ...
  • Download PDF
    Strategic Hedging as Rational Diplomacy
    Authors
    Marcus Vinicius de Freitas
    October 22, 2026
    Strategic hedging is rational when it preserves a worthwhile choice at a tolerable cost while respecting existing commitments. Drawing on the literature on hedging and Latin American autonomy, this Policy Brief examines contrasting illustrations of that proposition. It distinguishes ambiguity about future alignment from uncertainty about existing obligations and explains how clearly bounded commitments can reconcile autonomy with credibility. The cases reveal different vulnerabiliti ...
  • حديث الثلاثاء : تأثير أسواق المحروقات على الاقتصاد الوطني
    October 22, 2026
    تتناول هذه الحلقة من «حديث الثلاثاء» تأثير تقلبات أسعار النفط والغاز في الأسواق العالمية على الاقتصاد المغربي، وانعكاساتها على القدرة الشرائية للأسر وتنافسية المقاولات. ونناقش مع ضيفنا السيد أمين سامي كيف تنتقل هذه التقلبات إلى أسعار السلع والخدمات، ولماذا لا تنخفض الأسعار دائمًا مع ترا...