G20 Roundtable Sets Ten-Point Sustainable Finance Agenda for India

A high-level roundtable co-organised by the Climate Bonds Initiative, ODI, auctusESG, and IEEFA has identified ten priority actions for India's sustainable finance roadmap in the post-G20 period. Participants highlighted structural and capacity barriers that must be addressed to accelerate both domestic and international capital flows toward sustainable investments.

The roundtable was opened by Geetu Joshi, Advisor at India's Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, who led the Sustainable Finance Working Group during India's G20 Presidency. Key discussion points centred on the need to enhance multilateral development bank resource efficiency, with experts advocating for leverage ratios of 8 to 10 times through strategies including capital increases, thematic bonds, and risk-sharing facilities. Participants also stressed the importance of shifting financial incentives from capital-expenditure subsidies toward productivity-linked frameworks to attract private sector capital.

Participants identified several barriers constraining sustainable finance in India. Banks operate at varying levels of ESG maturity, with senior management awareness cited as a persistent gap. The absence of a clear taxonomy — comparable to the EU Green Deal — creates fragmented efforts and greenwashing risks that deter sustainable lending and investment. Data quality, harmonisation, and assurance challenges further complicate portfolio-level climate risk assessment. The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) was highlighted as a potential vehicle for attracting foreign sustainable investment flows.

For the short term, the roundtable recommended that financial institutions assess and disclose carbon emissions and climate-related financial risks across their portfolios and operations. Over the medium term, the agenda calls for aligning investment strategies with India's Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goal commitments, reducing emissions-intensive funding, and initiating transition planning. The Ministry of Finance Sustainable Finance Taskforce's 2021–22 work was flagged as a critical reference point for these next steps, along with transition trajectories being developed by Niti Aayog.

Key figure — Multilateral development banks were urged to target 8 to 10 times leverage on their capital to mobilise sustainable finance.