Sara Aagesen argues in Seville for innovative climate finance as a driver of social justice and sustainable development

The Third Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, at the special event "From Emergency to Opportunity"

The Third Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, opened and moderated the special event "From Emergency to Opportunity: Climate finance as a guarantee for Sustainable Development. What innovative solutions can we draw upon?", held in the framework of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, which is taking place this week in Seville.

The panel included Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion; Mark Malloch-Brown, President of the Open Society Foundations; and Teresa Ribera, Vice-President of the European Commission, among others. They all agreed on the need to push for systemic reforms in the international financial system to mobilise capital at scale for a green, just and inclusive transition.

During her speech, Aagesen stressed that climate finance must move from being conceived as an emergency response to become a structural lever for fair, inclusive and sustainable development. "Climate action is a catalyst for prosperity, stability and equity. It is not a burden, but an economic opportunity for transformation," she said.

The Vice-President recalled that 2024 was the warmest year on record to date, according to the World Meteorological Organisation, which reinforces the urgency of moving towards economic models that are compatible with the planet's limits. "We know the path: move away from fossil fuels, protect and restore ecosystems, transform mobility and food systems... More than 60% of global GDP depends on healthy ecosystems. We can no longer ignore it," she said.

The panel, which brought together international policy-makers, financiers and scientists, addressed four main priorities:

1. Reforming global financial standards.
2. Promoting innovative financial solutions.
3. Easing debt pressure in vulnerable countries.
4. Mobilising private finance with real impact.

Aagesen stressed that science must be at the heart of decision-making and called for aligning climate and biodiversity ambition with financial flows. "We have the capital. What we need is political will, international coordination and effective tools that reach the ground," she said.

In this regard, she presented some of the initiatives that Spain is already promoting, such as debt swaps for climate action and development, green bonds, suspension clauses in the event of climate disasters and results-based financing mechanisms. She also stressed the importance of channelling special drawing rights towards green and social objectives.

Through the Seville Platform for Action, Spain is mobilising more than 130 joint public-private initiatives with the aim of accelerating impactful solutions. €1.6 billion in bilateral debt swaps have already been activated, with a commitment to increase this figure.

"The cost of inaction far outweighs the cost of action. We cannot ask a country to choose between repaying its debt and protecting its population from climate disasters. Climate finance is not charity. It is investment in people, in their stability and in our shared future," Aagesen concluded.

Non official translation