UK Minister for Development Announces New Funding and Partnerships to Deliver SDGs

Efforts to address the climate crisis and boost growth in the Global South and at home will be enhanced under a partnership approach between the government and the UK financial sector, the UK’s Minister for Development Anneliese Dodds announced on Monday 3 February. 

Speaking at the London Stock Exchange, Minister Dodds praised the “expertise, experience and dynamism” of the UK’s financial services sector, and pledged to put this expertise “at the heart of how we meet the opportunities and challenges of our time”, including accelerating delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These seek to address global challenges, including poverty, inequality, and climate change, to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all, by 2030. 

Minister Dodds set out how investment in the Global South is an opportunity for UK financial services “to marry investment in the economies and technologies of the future, with the experience and expertise of the City of London”, adding that the government will hold up its end of the bargain by working internationally to reform the global financial system to provide greater opportunity and stability. 

The Minister announced up to £100mn for the UK’s flagship public markets programme MOBILIST. This programme will provide businesses focused on delivering the SDGs with the anchor funding and expert advice they need to list on stock exchanges around the world, including in London, allowing them to attract significant sums of additional private investment.  

This is expected to generate between £400mn and £600mn of new investments in businesses across emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. These investments will support economic growth, sustainable development, and climate action in local markets. 

She also celebrated the issuance of the first Climate Investment Fund (CIF) Capital Markets Mechanism (CCMM) bond last month, which raised $500mn (approximately £400mn) for energy and clean technology projects in low- and middle-income countries. The CCMM, launched by the Prime Minister at COP29, is a new financial mechanism to leverage future loan repayments by issuing bonds on capital markets. 

During the speech to the UK Financial Sector, Minister for Development Anneliese Dodds said, “With businesses and the government working hand in hand to drive investment in the Global South, we can unlock growth, jobs, trade, investment, and pride in our economy overseas and here at home. This government is enabling the financial services sector to flourish and use its expertise and depth of capital to invest in the markets and technologies of the future.” 

UK Climate Minister Kerry McCarthy said, “This is a historic moment for tackling the climate crisis, with the first bond raising $500 million to accelerate the global clean energy transition and support the flow of climate finance to developing countries. 

Public finance alone cannot tackle the scale of this challenge, and this mechanism will help leverage the private finance needed to support those on the frontline of a changing climate. 

Its listing in the UK positions London as a green finance capital. By working with partners such as the World Bank the UK can drive the action needed to grow the economy and reap the rewards of net zero.” 

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