Programme information

The Programme will be delivered by a faculty of expert contributors, who will pose provocative fire starters that will enable ‘outside the box’ discussion and ideas as much as they will transmit knowledge. In keeping with Cambridge University’s longstanding mission, the goal is to stimulate critical thinking and leadership action, and each segment will be facilitated in a way that enables the participants to identify the ‘exam question’ and respond.

Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) Leadership Programme

The SFWG Leadership Programme is a customised, exclusive programme delivered by CISL Africa and UNDP as part of South Africa’s G20 presidency.

Overview

The Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) aims to mobilise sustainable finance as a means of ensuring global growth and stability, while promoting the transition towards greener, more resilient, and inclusive societies and economies. The Group is tasked with identifying institutional and market barriers to sustainable finance and developing options to overcome these barriers, thereby contributing to a better alignment of the international financial system with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement.

The SFWG Leadership Programme will consider the role of different types of finance in supporting South Africa’s three overarching G20 themes and its five main objectives: inclusive growth, employment and inequality; critical minerals; reform of the global financial architecture; artificial intelligence and innovation; and food security.

Specific outcomes include:

Share SFWG members’ knowledge and understanding of how finance can avoid risks and realise opportunities and ensure economic resilience in the changing global context;
Provide consistent, comparable and decision-useful information on sustainability risks, opportunities and impacts;
Discuss the linkages between the stability of the finance sector and ensuring sufficient finance (quantum and quality) flows to where funds are most needed in terms of environmental, economic and social sustainability;
Participants to reflect on SFWG agenda in the context of the decisions of the Brazilian G20 and the strategic priorities of the South African G20, recognising the interconnectedness of the South African presidency’s over-arching themes of solidarity, equality and sustainability;
Provide the participants with a facilitated opportunity to build their community.

Additional Reading Material

To deepen your understanding and enrich your experience of the seminar, we’ve included some suggested additional reading. While not compulsory, these materials offer valuable context and perspectives.

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Day 1 : Monday 9 June

10.00 – 10.30: 1.0 Introduction to the Programme
10.30 – 11.30: 2.0 System Pressures & Trends in Africa: Implications for finance and “an African G20”
11.30 – 11.45: Coffee Break
11.45 – 13.00:
3.1 The State of Capital panel.

3.2 Natural capital and systemic financial risks.
13.00 – 14.00: Lunch
14.00 – 15.00: 4.1 Leadership action groups
15.00 – 15.30:
5.1 Financing urban transitions.

5.2 Debt and Public Finances
17.15 – 18.30: Free Time
18.30 – 19.30: 5.3 Fireside Conversation, Binnehof Room
19.30 – 21.00: 5.3 Dinner

Evaluation Form - Day 1 Presentations - Day 1 Photos - Day 1

Day 2 : Tuesday 10 June

08.30 – 09.00: Introduction to the day & Recap
09.00 – 10.15:
5.4 Financing Just Transitions.

5.5 Carbon markets – where have we got to?
10.15 – 10.30: Coffee Break
10.30 – 12.00:
6.1 The Role of International Climate Finance.

6.2 Country Platforms: the Opportunity and the Challenge
12.00 – 13.00: Leadership Actions Groups
13.00 – 14.00: Lunch
14.00 – 15.30:
8.1 How the G20 can best advance sustainable finance?

8.2 Priorities for the SFWG at the 2025 G20. 8.3 Close out

Evaluation Form - Day 2 Presentations - Day 2 Photos - Day 2