ISLAMABAD, Nov 9 (APP): Ministry of Finance and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pakistan launched the SDG Investments and Climate Financing Facility on Wednesday to mobilize private sector investments and promote dynamic Financing for the Development portfolio for Pakistan.
According to a press release issued by UNDP, the SDG Investments and Climate Financing Facility will identify, develop, and leverage high-impact SDG-aligned and climate financing value propositions with the potential to attract investments from various national and international investors, including financial markets.
“This is a timely initiative for accelerating Financing for Development in Pakistan”, said the honorable Finance Secretary, Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh, while launching the Facility. “We must call on the private sector and international stakeholders to expand the financing pool and reach out to marginalized populations.”
In a video message, UNDP Assistant Secretary General, Assistant Administrator, and Regional Director, Regional Bureau of Asia and the Pacific, Kanni Wignaraja, said “we will need to combine grants and credits, public and private sector financing, international and domestic borrowing, and new resources to recover, rebuild and prevent further catastrophes.”
Resident Representative, UNDP Pakistan, Knut Ostby, reiterated, “the vision of the Facility entrusted by the Government of Pakistan and UNDP Administrator is aimed at enabling Pakistan to take bold choices to protect and restore our fragile planet, and at the same time drive down poverty and inequality.”
The Facility’s launch event was chaired by Finance Secretary Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh, with UNDP’s Regional Director Kanni Wignaraja giving a video address.
Climate-induced catastrophic floods in Pakistan have afflicted more than a third of the country, with a critical need to address the widening recovery gap and development needs. Recently launched Post Disaster Needs Assessment Report (PDNA), led by the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, and supported by the UN with the technical facilitation of UNDP, the World Bank, the European Union, and the Asian Development Bank estimated the total floods damage at $14.9 billion, total loss at $15.2 billion, and total needs at $16.3 billion.
At the same time, financing climate action – including mitigation and adaptation measures – requires large investments.
Therefore, significant finances are also needed to prepare Pakistan’s economy to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The IMF estimates Pakistan’s annual financing gap for the SDGs at $3.72 billion for 2020-2030, and the NDC estimates that $ 7 billion to $14 billion must be raised for climate adaptation in the country.
The public sector requires more fiscal space, and there is potential for more from the private sector. Therefore, meeting the demand for financing climate action and SDG achievement requires a well-designed, evidence-based strategy backed by a deep understanding of challenges and available options. In this context, the UNDP-Government Facility aims to leverage Pakistan’s structural transformation through private sector investments in the SDGs, climate resilience, and disaster risk financing as core pillars of the country’s sustainable economy.
