By Luma Ramos and Rebecca Ray The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declared that the world stands at a ‘now or never’ moment. In this decade, nations must make the necessary investments to prevent global warming from surpassing 1.5 degrees Celsius. Without those investments, the world will suffer severe consequences, including devastating human, ecological and […]
A debt crisis is emerging in the Global South at the precise moment when substantial investment is needed to meet shared climate and development goals. Yet, the G20 Common Framework has been unable to engage all creditor classes or link debt relief to climate and development. How can emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) find […]
As 2022 comes to a close and the world confronts the “polycrisis,” researchers from the Boston University Global Development Policy Center highlight where progress has been made, where policy movement has stagnated and what to keep an eye on for 2023. Below, read key takeaways on the green energy revolution, sovereign debt, Chinese loans to […]
The Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group of Finance Ministers, a dedicated initiative of 55 climate vulnerable economies, is at the epicenter of looming debt and climate crises which are threatening their ability to build resilient and low-carbon economies. When scarce public finances are mostly spent on debt service rather than on investments to build a more resilient […]
By Rebecca Ray On Thursday, January 13, the Boston University Global Development Policy (GDP) Center and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Centre hosted a webinar discussion on the potential for using debt-for-climate swaps as an innovative solution to the twin crises of climate change and debt distress. The discussion consisted of […]
By Maureen Heydt From October 31-November 12, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, will take place in Glasgow, Scotland. The summit seeks to bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. World leaders, policymakers, researchers, journalists, activists […]
By Samantha Igo As the Group of Twenty (G20) meet in Rome from October 30-31, the triple crisis of climate, COVID-19 and ballooning sovereign debt demands bold intervention. Countries are reeling from the economic and social costs following a summer of extreme weather events, with only 2.9 percent of people in low-income countries having received […]
By Samantha Igo As the Global South grapples with a deadly pandemic and growing climate concerns, the United Nations Development Program estimates developing countries and emerging economies owe close to $1.1 trillion in debt service payments in 2021 alone. Comprehensive debt relief is needed to avoid this looming crisis, but existing relief structures, such as […]
By Rebecca Ray The triple crisis of public health, the global economy, and climate change are looming for the world, but focusing their havoc on developing countries in particular. While low and middle-income countries (LMICs) have faced wave after wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic also made foreign capital and hard currency scarce, necessitating […]
By Katie Gallogly-Swan The debt crisis is far from over in the Global South. While international capital has partially returned to developing and emerging economies, in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) debt service is impeding crisis response as third waves of COVID-19 devastate recovery efforts and exacerbate scarring to economies already squeezed by severe […]