FUTURE INVESTMENT INITIATIVE INSTITUTE RESOLVES TO REMOVE 5.4 TRILLION INVESTMENT GAP IN EMERGING MARKETS

At the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh today, a global summit, leaders and investors have today resolved to tackle ESG shortcomings in the form of a Resolution to Increase ESG Investment in Emerging Markets

The Resolution to Increase ESG Investment in Emerging Markets, will see the FII Institute convening leaders and investors from the west, east and Global South to take collective action on inequities in current ESG frameworks.

Emerging markets are home to 86% of the world's population and responsible for 58% of global GDP, yet they receive less than 10% of all ESG investments.  As the growth engine of the future this is far from the scale necessary for sustainable growth and insufficient to meet the $2.5 to $3.7 trillion annual investment gap needed to address the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries. 

Recognising current limitations of ESG data tools, the Resolution calls for:

- Commitment by FII Institute partners to implement an inclusive ESG methodology with the goal of increasing AUM in Emerging Markets to 30 per cent of global sustainability portfolios by 2030;

- Urgent adoption of international sustainability disclosure standards across emerging and developed markets;

- Recognition of the forthcoming roll-out of the International Sustainability Standards Board IFRS-1 and IFRS-2 as crucial steps that will improve ESG inclusiveness and data quality;

- market participants to report and provide the data the world needs to make better and more efficient investment choices.

The FII Institute will continue to use its convening power to promote the agenda of inclusive ESG in PRIORITY Summits around the world to exhort government and the private financial sector to meet this challenge.

Richard Attias, CEO of the Future Investment Initiative Institute said: "A bias at the centre of the world's most dominant ESG ratings is taking $trillions away from developing markets, which are the growth engines of the global economy. Existing ESG data tools discriminate against tme in favour of developed markets. If they are to ever fulfil their original purpose of powering a more sustainable future, we need widespread adoption of inclusivity, so ESG truly benefits every country, every region, and the entire world."