Frankfurt School at UN-FFD4 in Sevilla

The Sevilla Commitment, adopted at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), held in Sevilla from 30 June to 3 July 2025, underscores the pivotal role of private finance in achieving global climate and development goals. It positions EU financial institutions as critical enablers of the $1.3 trillion climate finance target and highlights the strategic business opportunities in mobilising capital toward sustainable and nature-aligned investments.

In Sevilla, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management co-hosted a side event titled “Scaling up Sustainable Development Finance: Unpacking Global Estimates, Supporting Effective Mobilization.” The event was organised jointly with the Institute for Climate Economics (I4CE), International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), and ODI Global.

The session addressed one of the most urgent challenges in global policy: how to close the trillion US Dollar finance gap to meet climate and development needs by 2030. Key experts and government representatives from the Ministry of Finance in Brazil, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Germany, and the Southern Development Bank in Southern Africa discussed and critically examined current estimates and how to make them more relevant for policy implementation and investment strategies on the ground.

“How we fill the financing gap depends on enabling environments which will vary at the country level, requiring tailored packages. Tracking these packages is necessary, both to document overall progress, and make countries accountable on their individual effort” says Michael König-Sykorova, Senior Project Manager at the Frankfurt School – UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance.

In alignment with the Sevilla Commitment, the event emphasised the role of private finance in supporting sustainable development and attracting long-term, diversified capital to developing countries. Frankfurt School’s participation brought in its core expertise at the intersection of academic rigour, sustainable finance policy advisory, and tailored institutional capacity-building.