G20 TechSprint 2024

We are calling for innovative technology solutions that can be used to incentivize and attract sustainable and inclusive investments targeted at biodiversity and nature preservation.

• Sustainable and inclusive investments in biodiversity and nature-related projects are crucial, as they promote sustainable economic growth while ensuring a healthy and prosperous future for all.
• However, investments in these projects remain limited due to challenges such as uncertainty about whether the project is delivering the positive impact it committed to, as a consequence of the difficulty of tracing, thereby creating a risk of loss of investment and greenwashing. Or the need for liquid and transparent secondary markets for such investments.
• Given these challenges, we invite innovative technology solutions, including but not limited to those that use tokenization and smart contracts to foster investments in biodiversity and nature-related projects. This could include asset tokenization representing a stake in a specific project, such as reforestation or wildlife protection, DAOs for community governance, and methods to enable micro-investments to provide a sustainable way of life for populations that depend on natural resources for their subsistence.
• Usage of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and satellite imagery for project validation and monitoring to offer transparency, traceability, and efficiency in funding conservation efforts.
• The solutions may seek to address the traditional finance challenges such as high cost of intermediation and lack of finance for projects in the Global South, as well as the risks associated with long project horizons, by unlocking new avenues such as tokenized and/or fractional ownership, and the creation of new secondary markets for investments in environmentally beneficial projects.
• These solutions could contribute to mobilising public and private funding for nature-positive projects, by increasing transparency and facilitating blended finance vehicles.

We are calling for innovative technology solutions that enhance the collection, aggregation, and analysis (including some high-level data quality assurance, e.g. correct units used and sum of the parts corresponding to the total) of ESG data to facilitate due diligence, disclosure, and management of ESG risks and opportunities by (a) large corporates and SMEs, (b) investors and financial institutions, and/ or (c) regulators and supervisors.

• Reliable and granular environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data is key to making informed decisions and identifying and managing ESG risks and opportunities.
• This problem statement is looking for solutions that may cater to the diverse needs of one or more of the following types of users: (a) large corporates that want to monitor scope 3 exposure in their supply chains, or SMEs in those supply chains who want to (or are asked to) create transparency about their climate and environmental footprint, (b) investors and financial institutions who want to direct investment and loans towards corporates and SMEs and who want to calculate their scope 3 “financed emissions”, and (c) regulators and supervisors who supervise those licensed institutions and hence need efficient access to the publicly disclosed data.
• For reference, the solutions may use technologies such as big data analytics, AI/ML, Gen AI, dMRV, IoT, and blockchain to ensure quality, reliability and granularity of data, facilitate real-time ESG measurement, reporting and verification, and enable proactive management of risks including greenwashing and fraud risks. The solutions may target physical, transition and adaptation risks.
• The solutions could include innovative approaches to mapping nature-related risks and linking them with financial data (e.g., supervisory reporting data, such as the BIS “digital twin” project) to assess risk exposure. They could also help measure the biodiversity footprints of financial assets and the positive impacts of investments to better align financial flows with the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
• The solutions may incorporate RegTech to streamline compliance with evolving ESG regulations including but not limited to ISSB standards, and/or SupTech to provide regulators and supervisors with advanced tools for monitoring, enforcing and supervising compliance with such standards.

We are calling for open-sourced data-driven technology solutions that can be used to support financial decisions and capital allocation aligned with the SDG goals, including preserving biodiversity, climate change, clean energy, financial education and inclusion, poverty alleviation, etc.

• This problem statement intentionally focuses on open-sourced data or solutions that are accessible to all as a public good at no (or low) cost hence ensuring transparency, and on which other solutions can be built to foster the SDG goals, including financial education and inclusion.
• We highlight the importance of solutions on financial education and inclusion as enablers of the SDGs. Financial inclusion supports overall economic growth, and consequently, the achievement of broader development goals.
• For reference, the solutions may consider predictive analytics, geospatial analysis, AI/ML, crowdsourcing, DLT, etc., to identify and establish key indicators for measuring progress against SDG targets. MRV or dMRV can also be explored to ensure the accuracy and reliability of data for real-time and immutable record keeping.
• Mobile and online platforms that offer financial services tailored to underserved communities. Incorporating elements of financial education, these tools can empower users to make informed decisions that support sustainable development goals.
• The solutions may also include Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track the effectiveness of investments and initiatives towards achieving the SDGs, as well as Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) to monitor potential risks that could impede progress or derail the initiatives.