Engagement and Policy Dialogue: Accelerating sustainability across the Asia-Pacific Private Sector - Resident Coordinator's Speech, Gita Sabharwal

Today’s policy dialogue to accelerate sustainability demonstrates the power of broad-based partnerships through ESCAP’s Sustainable Business Network and APINDO

Let me thank all the participants and experts for their contribution during the panel discussions.

Your insights are taking us closer towards scalable models for accelerating the SDGs across Asia and the Pacific.  

As an upper-middle-income country with a forward-looking development agenda, Indonesia is very well placed to showcase best practices and lessons learned on circularity while learning from other countries.

Importantly, as we have heard today the private sector is a key driver of circularity across countries. 

That is why the private sector needs to raise ambition by introducing, investing in, and scaling up green technologies throughout its business processes and across its supply chains.

Adopting frameworks like the Science-Based Targets (SBTi) aligned to corporate actions will enable the acceleration of carbon neutrality goals set by companies.  

Encouragingly, we have seen in Indonesia and elsewhere the power of partnerships with the government, private sector and UN, which serves as a driver to harness the resources and technologies needed to fast track the process of reducing emissions to meet the NDC goals of countries.

However, a comprehensive green transition will also require scaling up innovative financing.

Speaking from the example of Indonesia, the country’s deep decarbonization will require an additional $522 billion for its NDCs.

This shortfall needs to be met through innovative climate financing models, of which Indonesia is a leader within ASEAN.

For instance, together with the Ministry of Finance, the UN has supported the development of green sukuks, blue and SDG bonds.

This has translated into mobilizing $10 billion directed towards ESG investments through sovereign and corporate bonds.

The UN is also keen to engage with Zakat and Waqf funds with an asset base of $27 billion to expand their financing to support SDGs more comprehensively, including the green transition to unlock additional financing at the provincial level. 

Going forward, the UN stands committed to continue scaling up its engagement with the private sector to accelerate circularity, boost decarbonization and boost innovative financing.

Today has been an excellent opportunity for us to learn from you directly on these and other critical agendas.

We can leverage these insights as we continue raising ambition in the private sector to turbo-charge the SDGs in Asia and the Pacific. 

Thank you.