ABSTRACT

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will remove moving “from billions to trillions” in terms of the financial resources mobilized. Overseas development assistance is insufficient and new partnerships are required, including public–private partnerships. Private philanthropists are important in that they are more willing to innovate and take risks with new forms of funding. Development Impact Bonds are promising, although time-consuming to develop and relatively modest in size. Blended finance comes in many forms and can be deployed at scale, but oversight of the equity implications is important. Finally, there is a growing trend to “impact investment”, a particular form of the larger set of ethical investment options. Public sector pension funds are leading the way for larger-scale private investments to support the SDGs. Areas for future work include providing more readily available information on the environmental, social and governance “scores” of investment opportunities, and international co-operation on taxation to help reduce illicit flows of capital.