G20's sustainable finance group to work on capacity building in segment: Official

With sustainable finance being a niche sector and most still in the "learning process", the Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) of G20 under India's presidency will work towards capacity building in the segment by identifying requirements, efforts already in place and existing gaps, an official said.

It will then come up with recommendations on what needs to be done in specific areas and how organisations can contribute towards it, she added.

"Capacity building of the ecosystem for financing sustainable development was among the priority areas taken up for discussion in the 1st SFWG meet," Geetu Joshi, Adviser, Ministry of Finance (MoF), said at the end of the two-day meeting here on Friday.

She said it had been taken up because in many countries there is a lack of adequate knowledge and a scarcity of skilled professionals and workforce in sustainable finance.

"There is a lack of adequate knowledge. One member country said during a session that they thought only developing countries lacked this skill, but they realised that it is a global problem," Joshi said.

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Pointing out that sustainable finance is a "very technical and niche" area, she said, "Not everybody understands it. Everybody is in the learning process. There are a lot of technical issues that need to be identified."

"During one of the sessions on the topic, international organisations shared what they are putting in place and based on it, we will identify the areas first, know the demands and then complement it with supply," she said.

The SFWG will identify the requirements, efforts being made, gaps that are present and come up with recommendations for specific areas and which organisations can contribute.

"We will develop a G20 Sustainable Finance Technical Assistance Action Plan (TAAP)," the official said.

A skilled workforce is always a huge asset, especially in the area of sustainable finance and forms the key to achieving Sustainable Development Goals, Joshi added.