Despite the efforts of the UN and other international and regional institutions, the world body estimates that nearly 90 per cent of the funds needed to address global warming will derive from the private sector, Kerim said at an Assembly event with the theme "Global Private Investments and Climate Change."
Additionally, in 2030, some $200 billion will be needed to return emissions to current levels, while a recent report pointed out that without stepped-up action, poorer nations' GDP would plummet over 10 per cent, he said.
"Financial institutions shape our economies in many and varied ways," Kerim said in his opening address.
"Investment decisions taken today will inevitably affect the world's emission profile in the future."
The goal of the event, which also featured an interactive panel discussion, is two-fold, is to ascertain how decisions taken by private investors affect climate change and how global warming influences their financial choices.
"We don't want climate change to be reduced to an environmental issue," he told reporters after speaking at the event. "It is rather an issue of sustainable development and sustainable development must be based on economic growth," he added.
