The UN estimates that the annual financing gap for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is in the trillions of dollars. The Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance estimates developing countries’ investment needs to address climate change and the energy transition at $3.2 trillion a year by 2035, excluding China.  

Closing these gaps will require private sector investment, and in this episode of the ESG Insider podcast we’re talking with Sebnem Sener, the Head of Private Finance for the SDGs at the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Sustainable Finance Hub. She explains the challenges and opportunities of bringing in private capital to address sustainability challenges like climate change, stressed food systems and poverty. 

"We work at UNDP in many different ways to unlock the private capital that goes beyond profit and that actively contributes to sustainable growth for people and planet," Sebnem says.  

At the same time, she notes that the private sector should not function like philanthropy.  

“Profitability needs to be there,” she says. 

Read research from S&P Global Sustainable1 on the need for climate finance here: 

Listen to our interview with Marcos Neto, Assistant Secretary General and Director of the UNDP’s Bureau of Policy and Programme Support here: 

Join us to celebrate the 7th season of this podcast with a live event in NYC on Feb. 6. Register here: 

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.           

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