The Role of Public Development Banks in Scaling Up Sustainable Finance

This joint research paper between UNDP and Finance in Common, headquartered within Agence Française de Développement (AFD), explores public development banks’ (PDBs) roles, progress, and challenges to scale sustainable financing in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Paris Agreement. Based on the detailed face-to-face interviews in parallel with a survey, the paper provides successful case studies in all regions of how PDBs have delivered inclusive, equitable and sustainable growth with the right mix of strategy, instruments, data and collaboration--with a focus of national and subnational PDBs in developing countries -. With remaining barriers, the paper sought to identify a clear set of recommendations based on the views of the PDBs themselves. The recommendations are for national governments, PDBs, MDBs, regulators, credit rating agencies, technical assistance providers, bank coalitions/networks, and development partners.