Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan spoke on the global economic outlook, climate finance, capital flows and multilateral development bank reform.
© FAO/Fernando Reves | Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan addresses G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on 25 July 2024.
UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General addressed the 3rd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 25 July 2024, warning of low global growth, rising debt and falling trade and investment.
She spoke at the sessions on macroeconomic outlook, climate finance, and capital flows, global debt and multilateral development bank reform.
World economic outlook
Secretary-General Grynspan acknowledged the role of finance ministers and central bank governors in achieving a soft landing for the global economy. She cautioned, however, that “the global economy has landed but on a runway of low growth, high debt, weak trade and falling investment.”
UN Trade and Development projects global economic growth to sit below 3% this year, with developing economies expected to grow by 4.1%, led by the large emerging economies. Ms. Grynspan pointed out, however, that the least developed countries are 10% poorer than they would have been had the COVID-19 pandemic not occurred.
She also highlighted global trade’s decline in 2023, warning that while a more positive outcome is expected in 2024, trade growth remains very low. “The disruption in maritime transport – the Red Sea, the Black Sea and the Panama Canal – together with rising protectionism have severely disrupted global supply chains,” Ms. Grynspan said.
Climate finance
Ms. Grynspan underscored that the sustainable finance market is reaching a new stage of maturity.
In 2023, sustainable investment products surged by 20% in value, reaching over $7 trillion. Secretary-General Grynspan highlighted that sustainable bonds continue to fuel this expansion, with a cumulative value exceeding $4 trillion since 2018.
However, she warned against greenwashing, describing it as “a betrayal of trust, an erosion of the credibility of the entire sustainable finance market”. Ms. Grynspan insisted on the importance of implementing immediately the International Sustainability Standards Board's new global disclosure standards, avoiding fragmentation and over-burdening the private sector with a “spaghetti bowl” of standards.
She stressed the need for capacity-building, smart standards and interoperability efforts, adding that UN Trade and Development “is ready to support this crucial mission”.
Capital flows, global debt and multilateral development bank reform
Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan warned that recent crises have exposed fault lines in the international financial architecture and urged the G20 to act with renewed urgency. noting that development finance has failed to keep pace with global needs.
She highlighted that the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) financing gap in the Global South has grown from $2.5 trillion in 2015 to $4 trillion today, with record debt burdens crippling developing nations' ability to meet basic needs.
Ms. Grynspan also pointed to illicit financial flows, noting Africa loses nearly $100 billion annually – double its foreign direct investment and official aid. “Resources are going the wrong way,” she said, citing a projected $50 billion net capital outflow from the Global South this year.
She called for systemic reforms, including advancing the evolution of multilateral development banks (MDBs) to meet SDG stimulus targets, improving debt restructuring and making better use of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), with faster disbursements from key international funds.
The G20 has made progress, she said. “But in economics, as important as the direction is the speed and the scale of the action.”
