The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) will hold the World Investment Forum 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from Oct. 16-20.
The forum will bring together heads of state, government ministers, CEOs, and other investment stakeholders to discuss how to rally investments for climate action, clean energy, health care, food security, and other development needs.
“As the world faces multiple crises, we urgently need investment stakeholders worldwide to ignite action, unlock more funds and channel them to vital sectors key to reducing the effects of these crises,” UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan said in a statement.
According to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2023, overlapping crises such as the war in Ukraine, high food and energy prices, and debt pressures led to a 12% decline in global foreign direct investment in 2022.
The World Investment Forum 2023 will feature more than 130 events co-organized with over 80 partners. Topics will include climate finance, sustainable infrastructure, and the role of investment in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The forum provides an opportune moment for the global investment community, supported by policymakers and institutions, to mobilize and direct capital to projects that can fast-track environmentally responsible and socially beneficial development,” said Thani Al Zeyoudi, minister of state for foreign trade in the United Arab Emirates.
Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, chairperson of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), said: “Abu Dhabi is taking a leading role in defining the new architecture for climate finance, through concrete actions including its recently released comprehensive regulatory framework for sustainable finance that rivals global standards.”
$2.2 trillion annual gap for energy transition in developing countries
On climate action, this eighth edition of the World Investment Forum will highlight investment solutions that will feed into negotiations at the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) scheduled for late November and December in Dubai.
Forum participants will agree on actions to boost clean energy investments in developing countries, which face an investment gap of $2.2 trillion annually for the transition to low-carbon energy, according to the World Investment Report 2023.
Financing a low-carbon future
The forum will also address how the sustainable finance market can help build a low-carbon future and increase investment in sustainable energy.
The value of the global sustainable finance market (bonds, funds and voluntary carbon markets) reached $5.8 trillion in 2022, despite the turbulent economic environment, including high inflation, rising interest rates, poor market returns and the looming risk of a recession that all affected the financial markets.
$450bn needed annually for health and food
The forum will also explore opportunities to boost investment in health care. Developing countries alone need at least $100bn in additional investment in healthcare facilities and infrastructure each year.
They will also examine how to increase public and private sector investment in agrifood systems to reduce food insecurity, foster rural employment, particularly for women and youth, and increase incomes.
Countries need up to $350bn annually for the next decade to transform agrifood systems, which can also help tackle climate change and biodiversity loss.