Gallagher Offers Insight on Debt Relief for Climate-Stricken Nations
In an interview with Reuters, Kevin Gallagher, Professor of Global Development Policy at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and Director of the Global Development Policy Center (GDP Center), discussed the need for debt write-offs for countries that are most vulnerable to actions of climate change.
The article, titled “Up to $520bln in Debt Write-offs Needed for Emerging Nations’ Climate Goals,” examined a report from the GDP Center that argued for an overhaul of the finances of emerging countries, including debt restructuring, debts write-offs, and even debt suspension. Without these changes, countries in the Global South will face a debt crisis that will render them unable to invest in their development and climate goals. Gallagher commented that essential climate resistance strategies, such as planning projects that cut emissions or bolstering local infrastructure for severe weather, will become “out of reach.”
Especially as the issue of climate change compounds and worsens, this issue places vulnerable countries at risk. Gallagher agreed with the report’s findings, stating “Without ambitious debt relief, many of the poorest countries don’t have a chance.”
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Kevin Gallagher is a professor of global development policy at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, where he directs the Global Development Policy Center. He is the author or co-author of numerous books, including most recently, The Case for a New Bretton Woods (Wiley, 2022). Read more about Professor Gallagher on his Pardee School faculty profile.