Debt and Climate: Addressing Overlapping Crises

The looming debt and climate crises are closely intertwined. Rising temperatures and extreme floods, droughts and hurricanes worsen debt burdens, while debt service diverts public resources from urgent adaptation and mitigation needs and can lock countries into fossil fuel extraction. What is more, the majority of available climate finance comes in the form of additional debt.

As countries seek to decarbonize and stay below the 2C threshold of global warming, how can the International Monetary Fund (IMF) help countries navigate the debt-climate nexus as it works to incorporate climate into its operations? What options are there for comprehensive debt restructuring, and how can it be linked to climate goals? What innovative solutions are there for climate finance, and what role can Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) play in supporting climate investment?

As a part of the IMF/World Bank 2022 Annual Meetings Civil Society Policy Forum, a panel sponsored by the Boston University Global Development Center seeks to understand the cycle between debt and climate, as well as discuss proposals for resource mobilization, debt relief and expanding debt sustainability frameworks to create space for financing nationally determined climate goals.

On Wednesday, October 12, 4:30-6:00 PM at the IMF Headquarters in Washington, D.C., join experts from the IMF, civil society and academia for a conversation on how to address the overlapping debt and climate crises. The event is open to all Annual Meetings attendees.

Co-sponsors include AFRODAD, CAN International, Christian Aid, Climate and Community Project, Debt Justice UK, Global Alliance for a Green New Deal, Heinrich Boell Foundation, Latindadd and the Centre for Sustainable Finance, SOAS, University of London.

Speakers:

Marcos Chamon,  Deputy Division Chief in the Debt Policy Division of SPR, International Monetary Fund

Richard Kozul-Wright, Director, Globalization and Development Strategies, United Nations Conference on Trade And Development

Carola Mejía, Climate Finance Analyst, Latindadd

Ulrich Volz, Centre Director, Centre for Sustainable Finance, SOAS University of London

Lara Merling (Moderator), Senior Policy Advisor, Boston University Global Development Policy Center