Financing the Joint Implementation of Agenda 2030 and the European Green Deal.

This second SWG Report focuses on how to finance the joint implementation of Agenda 2030 and the European Green Deal. Strategic and competitive position of the EU The key findings and recommendations are as follows: I. Maintain leadership in Climate Change. The EU is and should continue to lead the world in mandating and regulating change. II. Leverage the EGD fully to maximize the impact on the SDGs. The European Green Deal policies are related to the SDGs, including Goals 16 and 17 and therefore offer the opportunity to more formally enhance the EU’s contribution to the SDGs. Separately, given the EGD, the EU should consider the additional actions required to leverage the EGD to lead the world in the implementation of the SDGs. III. Reform the legal systems to require non-financial reporting on externalities. Companies that are responsible actors are more profitable in the medium to longer term than those that are not and so the EU can lead in managing a more holistic approach to reporting profit and losses encompassing ecological transition and the value of three main types of Ecosystems: Terrestrial, Marine, and Freshwater. IV. Create competitive advantage for the EU through multi-stakeholder innovative solutions. The EU should lead the world in the innovation of solutions to meet the SDG shortfall, estimated at c.US$100 trillion, through collaborations between governments and NGOs with knowledge of the issues, private corporations with solutions, financial institution with capital and by empowering individuals with the information to make conscious buying choices. V. Develop resilience plans for EU member states and EU wide measure. Measures are required to address demographic risks, social protection, economic strength, policy capacity, and global coordination for a range of potential future crises based on significant gaps in resilience and preparedness highlighted during the pandemic, but given the war in Ukraine, a broader scope is required. VI. Maximize the value of stimulus to climate and SDG impact requirements and metrics. The EU has the opportunity in future to align stimulus and its impact goals given the finding that of the USD 2.3 trillion directed toward investments that could have been climate-friendly, total government spending earmarked for clean energy and sustainable recovery measures is only around 3%. Taken together, these measures have the potential to position the EU economically, socially, and geopolitically as a leader in sustainability and more importantly, have the potential to re-orient the system of capitalism toward a more responsible form better suited to manage the transition of the world out of an industrial era and towards a more sustainable and inclusive one. Leading the world in this endeavour has significant benefits for the competitiveness of the EU relative to other world powers and for its member states, companies and individuals as well as setting an example for the world at large.