In a meeting convened by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today, leaders of prominent financial institutions and businesses pledged to scale-up sustainable investments globally, especially in countries most in need as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance issued a statement (see below) vowing greater action to confront the global economic crisis driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and keep the Sustainable Development Goals on track.
“We, the Members of the Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance, met in these extraordinary circumstances to send a strong message of unity and commitment. We reinforce the UN Secretary-General’s calls for wide ranging actions that match the scale of the crisis,” the statement said.
The Secretary-General told the Alliance that the pandemic’s toll of skyrocketing unemployment, and the shuttering of businesses would hurt the poorest and most vulnerable and that rebuilding to pre-crisis levels of employment and output may take years.