It is a great pleasure to join you today and contribute to this discussion on the future of sustainable finance.
The title of this conference asks whether sustainable finance needs reinvention or a reality check. My answer is that it needs both realism and evolution.
The reality check is that sustainable finance has grown considerably, but unevenly, and its expansion has slowed in some markets. More importantly, the growth of sustainable financial products has not yet translated fully into the scale of productive investment required.
The evolution must therefore be towards a more mature model—one that moves beyond an excessive focus on labels and commitments and concentrates instead on financing credible business transformation, strengthening resilience and supporting long-term prosperity.
We must also be realistic about the economic context. Geopolitical fragmentation has increased. Security and resilience have become central economic concerns. Fiscal space is constrained. Energy costs and industrial competitiveness have moved to the forefront. At the same time, economies must finance several transformations: decarbonisation, defence, digitalisation, demographic adaptation, and infrastructure.
The investment needs are considerable, but so too are the obstacles—and the competing demands for funds.
Against this background, I would like to make three main points.