Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Recovery: Securing Private Sector Participation and Policy Space for Sustainable Development

A debt crisis is looming in the Global South. While international capital has partially returned to developing and emerging economies, in many low- and middle-income countries debt service is impeding crisis responses, constraining the ability to adapt to the impending climate crisis and threatening the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

The G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatments will not suffice to tackle the debt problem facing many developing and emerging economies. This is a systemic problem, and a global and systemic response is needed. The international community and the G20 in particular need to agree on an ambitious agenda for tackling the debt crisis and providing countries with the fiscal space for sustainable crisis responses.

Against this backdrop, the Debt Relief for Green and Inclusive Recovery initiative will share an ambitious proposal for concerted and comprehensive debt relief on a global scale to free up resources in heavily indebted developing countries to support sustainable recoveries, boost economic resilience, and foster a just transition to a low-carbon economy.

Join the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, the Centre for Sustainable Finance at SOAS University London and the Boston University Global Development Policy Center for an expert webinar discussion and presentation of the proposal during London Climate Action Week.

Keynote Addresses

Alicia Bárcena Ibarra , Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Louis Kasekende , Executive Director, Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa

José Antonio Ocampo , Professor, Columbia University; Former Finance Minister, Colombia