Study: Investment Migration Can Help Address Sustainability Challenges

Photo Source: The Henley Wealth and Sustainability Report

Greece is among the countries that have scored above the global average in terms of successfully achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which means that it can attract investors wishing to become resilient to the impacts of climate change, according to a study released this week by residence and citizenship advisory firm Henley & Partners.

The study analyzes over 150 data points across five key sustainability and wealth parameters, including population density and CO2 emissions per capita, achievement of SDGs, and unique wealth tier and wealth per capita data from global wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth.

Greece garnered a score of 78.4 out of 100 on the SDG index together with New Zealand, followed by Luxembourg (77.6), the US and Australia (75.9), Malta (75.5), Singapore (71.8), Turkey (70.8), the UAE (69.7), Egypt (69.6), and Mauritius (68).

Photo Source: The Henley Wealth and Sustainability Report

According to the findings, there has been a rising interesting in investment migration programs as an effective mechanism to improve resilience to the impacts of climate change and mitigate other sustainability risks.

“Investment migration can provide much-needed foreign direct investment to help meet our sustainability challenges,” said Henley & Partners CEO Juerg Steffen.

According to Steffen, several countries are already channeling program inflows into projects to boost their countries’ climate resilience for the benefit of their citizens.

A case in point, Grenada has strengthened its resilience against natural disasters by offering investors citizenship in exchange for a contribution to the country’s National Transformation Fund, which supports a range of industries including alternative energy.

The SDG Index scores demonstrate how countries are performing in terms of achieving the SDGs. Seven of the Top 10 offer investment migration programs with Germany in first place, scoring 83.4 out of 100, followed by Austria (82.3) and France (82.1). In addition to Austria, which offers two investment migration options, there are six other countries in the Top 10 that offer residence programs that enable talented and affluent individuals and their families to relocate. The UK ranks fourth with an SDG Index score of 81.7, followed by Switzerland (80.5), Spain (80.4), Portugal (80), Italy (78.8), and Canada (78.5).

On the down side, four countries scored below the global average on the SDG Index: Namibia (64.3), South Africa (64), India (63.4), and Ethiopia (54.6).

– Wealth per capita: Figures for June 2023, rounded to nearest 100.
– 2023 Sustainable Development Goal Index scores: doi.org/10.25546/102924
– Population density: Figures for 2021 (latest available)data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.POP.DNST
– CO₂ emissions per capita: Calculated using two variables, CO₂ emissions (kt) divided by population. CO₂ data for 2020 (latest available) data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.KT and data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL
Sources: ∗New World Wealth; ∗∗Sachs, J.D., Lafortune, G., Fuller, G., Drumm, E. (2023). Implementing the SDG Stimulus. Sustainable Development Report 2023. Dublin: Dublin University Press, 2023; ∗∗∗World Bank