Reforming the international financial architecture
Seek out new opportunities to align investment with impact.
For 20 years, the Principles for Responsible Investment have signaled a powerful truth: The choices investors make today will determine the economies — and societies — of tomorrow.
Responsible investment is an engine of value creation. Your members are powering it — with over 135 trillion US dollars in collective assets under management.
The message is clear.
Aligning investment with environmental, social, and governance factors can help address key global challenges like underdevelopment and climate change — while also creating new opportunities for growth.
This year’s conference rightly focuses on investing for people, planet and prosperity.
Investors can drive development in emerging economies — especially in renewable energy, technology and critical minerals — creating value that is widely shared by beneficiary communities.
At the same time, the Sevilla Commitment agreed last year gives the global community a practical roadmap to boost financing and investment for development:
By mobilizing more domestic resources and scaling up capital flows towards emerging economies.
By making Multilateral Development Banks bigger, better and bolder, positioned to de-risk private investment at scale while guaranteeing concessional funding for countries in need.
And by establishing a development-oriented debt architecture that prevents crises and reduces the cost of borrowing.
To make all this possible, it is essential to reform the international financial architecture, increasing the participation of developing countries.
As the Principles for Responsible Investment enter their third decade, I urge global investors:
Lead with ambition.
Seek out new opportunities to align investment with impact.
And help us build a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable future.
(United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the 20th Annual Conference of the Principles for Responsible Investment - “PRI in Person” in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 13 October 2026.)