mark carney : the sustainable development goal imperative remarks by mr mark carney, governor of the bank of england and chairman of the financial stability board, at the united nations general assembly, high - level thematic debate on achieving the sustainable development goals, new york city, 21 april 2016. * 1. * * the sdg imperative the sustainable development goals are a moral imperative, with objectives that include nothing less than ending poverty, fighting inequality and injustice, and tackling climate change. 1 the sdgs are also an economic imperative. their achievement would mean greater productivity, increased labour supply and ultimately stronger growth. in short, they could pull the global economy out of its current malaise of secular stagnation. 2. the scale of investment required to achieve the sdgs is immense achieving the sdgs will require both a step change in the quantum of investment and a marked reorientation of its destination. over the next 15 years, the global population is expected to grow by just over a billion. 2 another one and a half billion people are expected to urbanise. 3 although moving to a low - carbon future will not necessarily require substantially more investment than business as usual, 4 it will require a radical re - focusing of that investment from high - to lower carbon technologies. overall, it is estimated investments of between us $ 5 and $ 7 trillion a year are needed for infrastructure, clean energy, water, sanitation, agriculture, and the other sdgs. 5 this is significant but achievable. 3. building the financial system we need to deliver this investment while they are important catalysts, private niches, like social impact investing, or public sources, like multilateral development banks won ’ t be sufficient. achieving the sdgs will require mainstream finance. to get enough finance in the right places will require more than just fixing the fault lines that caused the last crisis. at the united nations sustainable development summit in september 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, which included a set of 17 sustainable development goals ( sdgs ). the sdgs aim to end poverty, hunger and inequality, support action on climate change, improve access to health and education, and build strong institutions and partnerships, over the next 15 years. for further detail on the goals, see www. undp. org / content / undp / en / home / sdgoverview / population growth figures from united nations, department of economic and social affairs, population division, “ world population

the transition. with respect to climate, our role is to develop the frameworks for markets to adjust efficiently. financing the de - carbonisation of our economy is a major opportunity for investors. it implies a sweeping reallocation of resources and a technological revolution, with investment in the fsb brings together national authorities responsible for financial stability from the g20 and other major financial centres, international financial institutions and standard - setters. the fsb also conducts outreach with 65 other jurisdictions through its six regional consultative groups. as summarised in the “ fsb chair ’ s letter to g20 ministers and governors on financial reforms – progress on the work plan for the hangzhou summit ” ( february 2016 ), the fsb is working on reducing misconduct risk, including exchanging best practices on governance frameworks and potentially developing a supervisory toolkit or guidance ; examining the effectiveness of post crisis reforms to compensation and whether disincentives to misconduct should be strengthened ; and sharing national experiences on bank regulators ’ enforcement powers. see bank of england “ fair and effective markets review – final report ” ( june 2015 ), which sets out recommendations to help restore trust in the wholesale fixed income, currency and commodity ( ficc ) markets including : raising standards, professionalism and accountability of individuals ; improving the quality, clarity and understanding of ficc trading practices by firms ; strengthening the regulation of ficc markets by uk regulators ; and improving international standards in this area. see carney ( 2015 ) “ breaking the tragedy of the horizon – climate change and financial stability ”. bis central bankers ’ speeches long - term infrastructure assets at roughly quadruple the present rate. 10 transparency is critical to recognising the risks and seizing the opportunities of this transition. improved disclosure is necessary to reveal how the valuations of companies that produce and use fossil fuels might change over time. it will expose the likely future cost of doing business, of paying for emissions and of tighter regulation. by doing so, it will build a “ market ” in the transition to a 2 degree world, allowing firms and market participants to take a view on the transition path. with improved disclosure, climate sceptics and evangelists, techno - optimists and pessimists, alike will be able to back their convictions with capital. the current fragmented reporting practices prevent investors, creditors and underwriters from taking these decisions on a fully informed basis. that ’ s why, at the request of g20, the fsb established an industry -