Investment in Sustainable Development Projects: New Opportunities and Innovative Approaches

Given the growing relevance of sustainable investment, the article highlights key trends in investment to achieve sustainable development goals. The dynamics of sustainable investment volumes in OECD countries, the volumes of green investment at the expense of the European Investment Bank, EU budget expenditures for the Recovery Plan, as well as the volumes of EU green bond issuance are considered. The main types of sustainable investment are systematized, of which foreign direct investment and green bonds are the most common. The largest volumes of investment in OECD countries are directed to projects in the field of renewable energy, ICT, development of sustainable infrastructure, and innovation. This is due to the development of a network of Investment Promotion Agencies, which are responsible for prioritizing sustainable investment sectors and ensuring the promotion and stimulation of sustainable investments. In general, the study indicates an increase in attention to sustainable investment policy, especially in EU countries, where such measures are defined as a component of sustainable financing of the Member States. The growth in sustainable investment volumes for 2003-2023 indicates significant potential and opportunities in using a new approach to investment, which is built on the conception of social, environmental, and corporate governance to solve existing problems of sustainable development. The authors systematize the possibilities of investing in sustainable development projects in Ukraine. The most promising include the introduction of standards for regulating the issue of green bonds to finance sustainable development projects; the formation and implementation of a sustainable investment policy in Ukraine; the elimination of obstacles and barriers to sustainable investment in Ukraine; the creation of incentives for the growth of investments in sustainable development projects. And we consider the creation of an Agency for the Promotion of Sustainable Investment in Ukraine, the signing of an international investment agreement with the EU to mobilize sustainable investments to be less promising.