COP31 and the $4 trillion question: How to finance sustainable development
The UN's annual Climate Change Conference of the Parties takes place in Antalya, Türkiye Nov. 9-20, and in this episode of the All Things Sustainable podcast we explore what to expect. COP31 will draw an estimated 100,000 participants from around the world, including heads of state, scientists, civil society representatives and business leaders. To understand how conversations about financing climate action and sustainable development will unfold, we talk to Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Special Envoy on Financing Sustainable Development. Mahmoud's career as an economist and finance leader includes roles as Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund, Senior Vice President at the World Bank Group, and UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for his home country of Egypt at COP27. In the episode, Mahmoud points to an estimated $4 trillion annual financing gap that must be closed to achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, largely related to investment in infrastructure. And he outlines barriers to mobilizing more private sector investment to address that gap — including by building pipelines of bankable, investable projects. "The capital is there," Mahmoud tells us in an interview at the Building Bridges Summit in Geneva, Switzerland. "What we need is basically these kind of projects aggregated in a way to attract the asset owners, asset managers and investors." Explore S&P Global's COP31 Programming here: S&P Global at COP31 Türkiye Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here: S&P Global Energy Horizons - The Sustainability Weekly Further reading: COP31 preview: Key issues and signals to watch (subscription required) Copyright ©2026 by S&P Global DISCLAIMER By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. Any unauthorized use, facilitation or encouragement of a third party's unauthorized use (including without limitation copy, distribution, transmission or modification, use as part of generative artificial intelligence or for training any artificial intelligence models) of this Podcast or any related information is not permitted without S&P Global's prior consent subject to appropriate licensing and shall be deemed an infringement, violation, breach or contravention of the rights of S&P Global or any applicable third-party (including any copyright, trademark, patent, rights of privacy or publicity or any other proprietary rights). This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties. S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST.