G20 Leaders discuss MDB reforms, crypto regulation – Digital Transformation News

The G20 leaders on Wednesday reviewed the progress on the decisions taken by them in September, including pledges to enhance the financing capability of multilateral development banks (MDBs), climate financing and global crypto regulation template, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

The virtual summit was the culmination of the Indian Presidency in 2023 during which G20 leaders met physically in New Delhi on September 9-10 and agreed upon 205 outcomes. In its report, the expert group set up by the G20 Indian Presidency has estimated an additional spending requirement of $3 trillion per year by 2030 to address urgent global challenges and SDGs. Of the $3 trillion annual requirement, $2 trillion could come from domestic resource mobilisation while the remaining $1 trillion in additional external financing. Of the $1 trillion in external financing, more than half could come from private financing and the rest from official financing, including MDBs.

“Several MDBs are already exploring options of collaborating with each other in areas such as innovative financing,” Sitharaman said. The US administration has asked US Congress for funding to unlock $25 billion in IBRD and Germany has pledged €35 million of hybrid capital that will enable the World Bank to have additional IBRD lending of $2.5 billion over next 10 years, she said.

Timely and adequate mobilization of climate finance has also remained high on agenda during the Indian Presidency. “Today we heard a lot of members talking about this and how important this will be,” the minister said. The announcements of USD 5.8-5.9 trillion and USD 4 trillion per year for National Determined Contributions (NDCs) implementation and clean energy technologies for developing countries was the critical outcome of Indian Presidency and it will continue to work with the Brazilian Presidency in mobilising these resources for the global south. The G20 leaders also called for swift implementation of the comprehensive policy framework to deal with risk associated with crypto assets.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) put together a Synthesis Paper on cryptos for the G20 which was presented to the FMCBG at its Gandhinagar meeting in July. The paper was later welcomed by the Leaders in the G20 New Delhi Declaration last month. The FMCBG adopted the roadmap proposed in the synthesis paper in its meeting on October 12-13 in Marrakesh, Morocco.