Stability is unravelling. The world is being thrust into an acute and fraught period of global geoeconomic fragmentation. This is evidenced by weakening international cooperation, eroding multilateralism, and reduced capital flows. New fragmentation fault lines have been created by the global economic slowdown, the cost-of-living crisis, high debt levels, market volatility, food and energy insecurity, supply chain vulnerabilities, and increased geopolitical tensions.

The proliferation of global trade fragmentation into rival economic blocs threatens to leave all of us unable to address the urgent ways needed to achieve a sustainable, socially inclusive, and just transition. How can we all rise to the challenges, tackle the increasing fragmentation, and accelerate capital flows to benefit the sustainability agenda?

Nature loss poses a major risk to businesses. Climate disclosures have existed for some years and while we rely on a stable climate to live on Earth, we also need functioning ecosystems. This is where nature disclosure comes in. In September 2023, TNFD final recommendations (v1.0) will officially be published but some financial actors will have already started applying the new framework on a number of products. Early adopters will share their experiences with the new framework and more generally explain how they connect the dots between climate and nature frameworks.

At the heart of the discussion is the recognition that our future belongs to strong bridge building as we can no longer afford a fractured world as polarization is increasing resulting in our planet and our people falling behind. With a dramatic course correction, we can steer a bright future by harnessing our enormous opportunities and our limitless potential.

The ingredients of success are available to drive positive change if technology, science, and finance are properly leveraged. It is time to rethink the way we tackle our pressing challenges and to reassess our decision-making to focus on swift action with stronger partnerships that foster cooperation. Bridge builders who are bold and courageous are needed to tackle the challenges of our time and work together from all sectors of society to create a more inclusive society with sustainable living. This will not be easy and requires partnership humility which allow for open-mindedness and bold leadership which drives positive impact and systemic change.

This plenary will examine how asset owners need to anchor sustainable and climate-friendly investment strategies to achieve the necessary long-term returns and by taking an active role in the companies they own to steer sectors toward a lower-carbon transition. Yet asset owners need to align their underlying investments with values and preferences of their beneficiaries and finding the right balance between social and environmental responsibility and fiduciary duty to maximize returns on behalf of beneficiaries has its hurdles, challenges and, of course, rewards and opportunities.

Scaling climate finance must reach the trillion mark and flow notably to the Global South which needs the capital the most to transition as they trail far behind. Climate investments must deliver superior returns and align with investor risk appetites, in other words, opportunities that are better than business as usual as institutional investors are not going to subsidize net zero. Institutional investors are attracted to large and scalable projects, so tackling the scalability issue is key to enable trillions of climate capital to flow. Large scale investments will flow more readily to areas where: governments implement supportive policies, regulatory frameworks and tax incentives are intact, innovation and technology unlock new opportunities, reliable and timely data is available, transparency inspires investor confidence and, finally, where risk is mitigated via legal recourse.

The Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) will launch on September 18th in the US and at this Building Bridges plenary in Europe. The launch has the potential to shift finance to better align with the nature on which it relies. The vital importance of nature and biodiversity in achieving climate goals means regulatory frameworks worldwide are evolving swiftly to integrate them into practices. Investor interest in biodiversity has been steadily gaining momentum, driven by the recognition that the need to address biodiversity is closely tied to achieving the net-zero carbon goals. Further, investors are becoming aware that degradation and loss of nature can have far reaching consequences, including disruptions to supply chains, increased business risks, and reputational damage.

The Swiss Finance Institute (SFI) in partnership with the Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF) and Building Bridges are holding a high-profile conference on the role of financial innovation in accelerating the change towards a more sustainable world in Zurich, on Wednesday, 13 September 2023.

While sustainability has become part of our everyday life, the need for rapid change is becoming increasingly evident. And financial innovation has a key role to play in accelerating this change. The conference will focus on current issues in sustainable finance. Ways of accelerating this transition will be sought, and discussion will range from climate risk for banks and whether CO2 should be considered a rare resource, to the challenges of scalability.

Join us on September 13 to explore ways to make a positive impact on sustainability!

• ESG integration in equity valuation: 3 years of experience
• The Swiss gender quota – does it help?
• Evolving landscape of corporate ESG reporting
• Navigating greenwashing risk
• Tackling the regulatory tsunami

Recent events have highlighted that financial systems can easily be shaken and impact investors’ trust. Sustainable finance has a key role to play in delivering on environmental, social and governance objectives. It does this by channeling private investment into the transition to climate-neutral and resilient, resource-efficient and fair economy, as a complement to public money. But what if applying sustainable finance principles across the industry could not only contribute to a faster transition of the global economy, but also to a more agile and resilient financial system?

Join us on July 5 to explore ways to consolidate our financial systems with key leaders in the field!