Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to share with you – for onward transmission to governments – an open letter to finance ministers on sustainable finance that we have released today on the margins of the ongoing UN climate conference (COP25) in Madrid.

The ICC letter has been developed over the last two months drawing on extensive input from members of the Environment and Energy Commission – in particular, members of our Sustainable Finance Working Group and national committees.

As you will be aware, mobilizing private finance at scale will be critical if the world is to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement – and it is vital that ICC plays a central role in bringing private sector experience and expertise to this agenda.

In this context, we have set out 10 ambitious – but achievable – policy recommendations that governments can deploy to enable financial institutions and investors to accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda in core areas such as clean energy, health, education and infrastructure.

This intervention is the first step in ensuring that ICC plays a central role – in the context of our “Lead for the Long Term” campaign – in shaping this rapidly accelerating debate in major forums including the UN General Assembly, the G20/G7 and the UN’s climate process.

I hope to be able to count on your full support in transmitting this letter to your respective governments without delay. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any thoughts on how best to advance this agenda at the local level in the months ahead – or if we can further support your engagement with national governments in any way.

Thanks, as ever, for your engagement – and please do stay tuned for our regular ICC updates from the vital climate negotiations taking place over the next two weeks at COP25.

All the best,

 
John W.H. Denton AO

ICC Secretary General

T +33 (0)1 49 53 28 18

E john.denton@iccwbo.org