加勒比海岛国 巴贝多 总理 倡议 新全球金融峰会
Mia Mottley (Oct 1, 1965-)， is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold either position.
Education: United Nations International School, London School of Economics and Political Science, Queen's College
巴巴多斯总理领导推动全球金融转型
https://dialogochino.net/en/climate-energy/367248-barbados-prime-minister-leads-push-to-transform-global-finance/
米娅·莫特利再次呼吁世界银行和国际货币基金组织支持面临贫困和气候威胁的穷国
Barbados prime minister leads push to transform global finance
https://dialogochino.net/en/climate-energy/367248-barbados-prime-minister-leads-push-to-transform-global-finance/
米娅·莫特利 (Mia Mottley) 于 2021 年 11 月在格拉斯哥举行的 COP26 气候峰会上发表讲话。巴巴多斯总理带头呼吁改革发展融资，以更好地支持气候脆弱国家
弗拉维亚·米尔霍兰斯 弗拉维亚·米尔霍兰斯 2023 年 4 月 13 日
巴巴多斯总理米娅·莫特利近年来成为发展中国家推动气候融资的领军人物，她在世界银行和国际货币基金组织（IMF）之前再次呼吁改革全球发展金融体系。 每年春季会议。
在 4 月 10 日星期一在华盛顿特区举行的为期一周的会议之前，莫特利和洛克菲勒基金会主席拉吉夫·沙阿写道，国际金融机构在支持贫穷国家方面“做得还不够” 面临多重危机，包括气候灾害、贫困和日益严重的饥饿。 他们表示：“当人类面临历史上一些最严重的危机时，应对措施不足使各国和人民感到越来越孤独。”
加勒比国家的平均债务与国内生产总值的比率。 世界银行表示，虽然这不是衡量经济健康状况的简单指标，但高于 77% 的比率可能会阻碍经济增长。
他们补充说，会议议程“没有令人乐观的理由”，无法相信那些负债累累、无力应对气候危机的低收入国家将会获得帮助。 其中很多都在莫特利所在的加勒比地区，那里的岛国极易受到极端天气的影响，而债务水平平均占 GDP 的 90%。
莫特利于 2018 年上任，获得超过 70% 的选票，成为自 1966 年巴巴多斯脱离英国独立以来第一位担任该职位的女性。她长期活跃于该国政坛，致力于反对污染、气候变化和森林砍伐，并 联合国环境规划署称，巴巴多斯已成为“全球环境运动的领跑者”。
这位巴巴多斯领导人自2022年11月在埃及举行的COP27气候峰会上发表备受赞誉的演讲以来，受到了越来越多的国际关注。在开幕式上，她呼吁发达国家为气候脆弱国家提供资金。 “如果没有优惠资金，发展中国家就无法打这场仗，”她说。
在会议上，莫特利还发起了布里奇敦倡议，这是一个由私人、公共和慈善领袖组成的国际联盟，旨在改革全球金融架构。 她首先在格拉斯哥举行的 2021 年联合国气候峰会 COP26 上提出了这一想法，并于 2022 年 7 月在巴巴多斯首都布里奇敦主办了一次会议，进一步完善其提案，该倡议也因此得名。
如果没有优惠资金，发展中国家就无法打这场仗
布里奇敦倡议的核心信息是，低收入国家需要新的方式来减轻债务，进而投资于气候适应能力和缓解措施。 该组织希望世界银行、国际货币基金组织等多边金融机构牵头每年筹集超过1万亿美元资金，支持发展中国家实现可持续发展和气候目标，并弥补极端天气事件造成的损失和损害 。
世界银行-国际货币基金组织春季会议汇聚了各国央行行长、部长、私营部门高管、民间社会代表和学者。 巴巴多斯没有派代表参加华盛顿的活动，而是选择专注于为其全球联盟制定一项推动金融改革的战略。
法国总统马克龙已经支持布里奇敦倡议，该倡议是莫特利三月份访问巴黎期间谈判的核心。 他们的下一次会议可能会在六月举行的新全球金融协定峰会上举行，该峰会由马克龙召集，将寻求以该倡议的改革呼吁为基础。
巴西前总统迪尔玛·罗塞夫与现任总统卢拉·达席尔瓦交谈，建议观点：巴西不能忽视迫在眉睫的全球债务危机
在其他地方，美国总统气候特使约翰·克里也对莫特利的多边金融改革想法表示开放。 巴巴多斯总理甚至得到了包括国际货币基金组织总裁克里斯塔利娜·格奥尔基耶娃在内的金融机构领导人的支持。
在周一的春季会议开幕式上，格奥尔基耶娃评论说，世界面临的危机“将负担推回”到穷人身上，并呼吁“进行结构性改革以提高生产力”并为各国经济增长提供前景。 世界银行集团行长戴维·马尔帕斯在与格奥尔基耶娃的讨论中补充道，在债务危机和极端气候不断加剧的情况下，“政策改变迫在眉睫”。 不过，他并未明确说明这些变化是否包括金融体系改革。
但关于世界银行是否会改变其贷款模式或如何解决贫困和全球变暖问题可能需要更长的时间才能得到回答，特别是在高层过渡时期。 在接下来的几周内，马尔帕斯预计将把权力移交给万事达卡前首席执行官兼国际商会主席阿贾伊·班加（Ajay Banga）。马尔帕斯因银行对气候行动的承诺以及他在气候变化问题上的个人立场而面临激烈的批评和压力。
巴巴多斯总理为重组全球气候融资而奋斗
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-65962997
作者：Justin Rowlatt 气候编辑，巴黎 2023 年 6 月 22 日
巴巴多斯总理米娅·莫特利巴巴多斯总理米娅·莫特利表示，富裕国家必须帮助发展中国家为气候变化的影响付出代价
周四在巴黎举行的世界领导人会议可能会为较贫穷国家提供数千亿美元来应对气候变化。
巴巴多斯第一位女总理米娅·莫特利正在领导全球争取这笔资金的斗争，她告诉英国广播公司新闻，她的小国迫切需要帮助。
较贫穷的国家想要更多的钱，因为它们几乎没有采取任何行动来引起气候变化，但却面临着最严重的影响。
他们还难以负担可再生能源等昂贵的项目。
气候融资，包括防洪或太阳能发电厂的资金，长期以来一直是气候谈判的最大症结之一。
但莫特利女士建立了一个全球联盟来支持她对国际金融体系进行根本改革的要求。
莫特利女士在巴黎告诉英国广播公司新闻，“我们都在一起”。 “如果我们没有意识到这一点，我们就不会采取必要的紧急行动来拯救地球和拯救生命。”
巴巴多斯总理与法国总统马克龙共同主办巴黎会议。
一名妇女在沙袋墙上行走，沙袋是为了防止侵蚀而放置的。图片来源，盖蒂图片社 图片说明，
马尔代夫等岛国希望帮助建立防御措施，抵御与气候变化有关的洪水
数十位世界领导人出席新全球融资协定峰会，其中包括德国总理、巴西总统、世界银行新任行长以及中国总理和美国财政部长。
英国将派出发展部长安德鲁·米切尔。
莫特利女士决心会议取得成果。
她将气候变化的威胁描述为对世界的“死刑”。 “如果是死刑，那么我们需要紧急采取行动，”她解释道。
峰会内部人士预计将宣布一项名为特别提款权 (SDR) 的国际货币价值 1000 亿美元的目标已经实现。
这些资产将转移到低收入国家用于气候计划。
但莫特利女士的目标还有更大的目标，即一项以巴巴多斯首都命名的“布里奇敦议程”计划。
它希望通过国际货币体系的全面现代化为最需要资金的国家创造更多资金。
目前的机构 - 包括世界银行和国际货币基金组织（IMF） - 是由战胜国在第二次世界大战即将结束时在美国新罕布什尔州布雷顿森林滑雪胜地举行的一次会议上建立的
所谓的“布雷顿森林体系”明年将迎来80周年。
莫特利女士表示，她希望将重点从富裕国家转移到交付造福全世界的成果上，例如帮助发展中国家应对气候变化，从而使其适应现代世界的挑战。
水库水位低与干旱有关 图片来源，盖蒂图片社 图片说明，
全球气温上升，许多国家面临极端干旱
“这些机构之所以存在，是因为它们的创建是为了帮助世界进行第二次世界大战后的重建工作。就气候而言，我们正处于一个与第二次世界大战同等的时刻，”她说。
本周，国际能源署警告称，如果世界要避免气候变化带来的最严重影响，到 2030 年代初期，发展中国家清洁能源的年度投资需要从 2022 年的 7700 亿美元增加两倍，达到 2.8 兆美元。
其中一项建议是，世界银行等机构为气候行动项目提供更便宜的贷款。
莫特利女士指出，巴巴多斯或安哥拉的防洪设施建设成本比荷兰或英国高得多。
架设风力涡轮机或安装太阳能发电场也是如此。
这是因为低收入国家被收取高利率——通常是发达国家利率的两倍甚至三倍。
然而，各个项目的风险差异并不那么大。
另一项建议是，世界银行等机构应同意为发展中国家的气候行动提供贷款担保。 这将鼓励私营部门以较低的利率放贷。
专家表示，这些举措可为低收入国家的气候项目带来价值数千亿美元的贷款。
另一项提议涉及设立拍卖会，发展中国家将为气候项目竞标廉价融资。
这个“减缓气候变化信托基金”将由价值数百亿美元的特别提款权提供资金，并由国际货币基金组织和联合国监督。
获胜者将是最快减少全球变暖的项目。
预计不会对这些提案做出最终决定，但莫特利女士相信将会取得进展。
莫特利女士说，我们告诉孩子们今天要做的事情不应该推迟到明天。
“我发现自己实际上重复了很多我们会对孩子们说的话，以便为当今的全球行为提供信息，”她继续说道。 “这告诉我们很多。”
秘书长在峰会上表示，全球金融架构未能履行为发展中国家提供安全网的使命，呼吁紧急改革
联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯，2023 年 6 月 22 日
https://press.un.org/en/2023/sgsm21855.doc.htm
以下是联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯今天在巴黎举行的新全球融资协定巴黎峰会上的讲话：
亲爱的埃马纽埃尔·马克龙，感谢您在充满挑战的国际背景下组织这次重要的峰会。 亲爱的米娅·莫特利，感谢您在布里奇敦倡议框架内所做的努力。 这为解决众多发展中国家面临的困难提供了良好的基础。 因为什么都不做不是一种选择。
国际金融体系陷入危机。 距 2030 年最后期限已过半，可持续发展目标与日俱增。 经过几十年的进步，即使是关于饥饿和贫困的最基本目标也发生了逆转。
是的，到2023年，将有超过7.5亿人吃不饱。 还有数千万人在极端贫困的边缘摇摇欲坠。 COVID-19大流行和俄罗斯入侵乌克兰加剧了局势。
虽然富裕国家可以印钞来重振经济，但发展中国家却不能这样做，并且正在努力应对过高的借贷成本——比发达国家高出八倍。
许多领导人面临着痛苦的选择：偿还债务还是满足人民的需求。 许多非洲国家现在用于偿还债务的支出超过了医疗保健的支出。 给整整几代人带来可怕的后果。
如今，有 52 个国家陷入违约或濒临违约。 这包括大多数最不发达国家，以及最容易受到气候变化影响的 50 个国家中的大多数。 其他数十个国家也面临加入它们的风险。
这种情况是站不住脚的。 显然，国际金融架构未能履行为发展中国家提供全球安全网的使命。
原因很简单，就像 Mia Mottley 刚才告诉我们的那样，这座建筑是在二战后建造的。 即使有一些变化，它本质上也反映了当时的政治和经济权力动态。
想想看：当今超过四分之三的国家没有出席布雷顿森林机构、世界银行和国际货币基金组织（IMF）的创建。 对于联合国和安理会来说，情况也好不到哪里去。
近 80 年后，全球金融架构已经过时、功能失调且不公正。 它不再能够满足二十一世纪世界的需求：一个以经济和金融市场深度一体化为特征的多极世界，但也以地缘政治紧张局势和日益增长的系统性风险为特征。
国际金融机构现在规模太小，能力有限，无法履行其职责并为所有人服务，特别是最脆弱的国家。 例如，世界银行的实收资本占全球国内生产总值 (GDP) 的比例现在还不到 1960 年的五分之一，尽管挑战要大得多。
更糟糕的是，全球金融体系使不平等现象长期存在，甚至加剧。 2021 年，国际货币基金组织分配了超过 6500 亿美元的特别提款权，我们对此决定表示赞赏。 包括我国在内的欧盟国家收到了 1600 亿美元。 非洲国家：340亿美元。
换句话说，欧洲公民平均获得的收入是非洲公民的近13倍。 这一切都是按照规则进行的。 但是，让我们承认：这些规则已经变得非常不道德。 在地缘政治本身就是分裂因素的世界中，不能代表当今世界的金融架构面临着导致自身分裂的风险。
如果不进行认真的改革，这场危机就不可能得到认真的解决。 我呼吁建立一个新的布雷顿森林体系——各国政府齐心协力，重新审视和重新配置二十一世纪的全球金融架构的时刻。
本月早些时候，作为我们未来峰会筹备工作的一部分，我提出了一份政策简报——一份重新设计的全球金融架构的详细蓝图，该架构能够成为所有国家的安全网。
我不抱任何幻想。 这是一个权力和政治意愿的问题，改变不会在一夜之间发生。 但是，当我们努力进行必要的深入改革时，我们今天就可以采取紧急行动，以满足发展中经济体和新兴经济体的迫切需求。
这就是为什么我提出每年 5000 亿美元的 SDG（可持续发展目标）刺激措施，用于可持续发展和气候行动的投资。 它包括全球领导人现在可以采取的具体步骤。
他们可以建立一个真正有效且及时有效的债务减免机制，支持暂停付款、延长贷款期限和降低利率，包括针对具有特殊脆弱性（即与气候相关的脆弱性）的中等收入国家。
他们可以通过增加资本基础和改变多边开发银行的业务模式来扩大发展和气候融资，并允许进行更强有力的协调来改变其应对风险的方法，而不会冒着 AAA [评级] 的风险，并且可以说很多 在我看来，[评级]机构所发挥的作用存在严重偏见，并导致了我们所面临的许多危机，同时它们也改变了应对风险的方式，以发展中国家负担得起的成本大规模利用私人融资。
今天已经有很多关于需要更多保证的说法。 世界领导人可以通过更广泛地重新分配未使用的特别提款权以及使用其他创新机制来增加全球流动性，从而扩大对有需要的国家的应急融资。
非洲开发银行将[特别提款权]重新分配给多边开发银行的举措可能会将其影响扩大五倍。 这个例子应该被扩展。 全球领导人可以建立一种机制，在危机时期自动发行[特别提款权]，并根据需要进行分配。 他们可以对碳定价并终止化石燃料补贴，并将其重新用于更可持续和更具生产力的用途。
我们现在可以做的事情清单还在不断增加。 接下来的两天将有助于推动事情向前发展。 总的来说，这些步骤将有助于战胜贫困和饥饿，振兴发展中国家和新兴经济体，并支持对健康、教育和气候行动的投资。
我们不必等待国际金融架构的彻底改革。 我们现在就可以采取措施，向全球正义迈出一大步。
我充分意识到我们面临的挑战和阻力。 当今世界的权力动态和全球合作的限制使问题更加难以解决。 但是，解决方案并非不可能。 我们现在就可以开始了。 您的讨论可以为有需要的人带来有意义的结果。 我敦促你们使这次会议不仅成为变革的呐喊，而且成为战斗的呐喊——呼吁采取紧急行动的战斗口号。 我们正处于真相和清算的时刻。 只要我们齐心协力，就能让这成为充满希望的时刻。 谢谢。
国际货币基金组织总裁在新全球融资协议峰会上的讲话
已准备好交付 2023 年 6 月 22 日
https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2023/06/22/sp062223-md-remarks-at-summit-for-new-global-financing-pact
克里斯塔利娜·格奥尔基耶娃
感谢马克龙总统主办本次峰会，并为债务、气候和发展融资等重要问题带来如此令人难以置信的能量。
感谢你们将新任世界银行行长阿贾伊·班加和我首次以新的角色一起登上舞台。
为了充分披露，我们之前曾一起上台讨论女性赋权和金融包容性。 我毫不怀疑，在我们机构合作的下一个篇章中，我们将成为伟大的合作伙伴。
一个快速变化且不平衡的世界
首先我要说的是，国际货币基金组织和世界银行成立于1944年，此后世界发生了巨大变化。 当时有99个国家。
现在这个数字增加了一倍多——国际货币基金组织有 190 个成员国——因此，仅凭这一点，布雷顿森林机构就与它们创建时截然不同。
与此同时，全球人口增加了两倍多，世界经济（以 GDP 衡量）增长了 10 倍多。 简单的数学计算意味着人均收入增加了两倍多。
因此，我们拥有一个更加丰富的世界。 但这是一个严重失衡的世界。
第一，有的地方有青年，有的地方有资本。 除非我们架起一座桥梁，让资本流向年轻人[以创造就业机会和繁荣]，否则我们不仅会破坏增长前景，还会破坏全球稳定。
二、气候。 无论过去还是现在，排放源主要位于发达经济体和大型新兴市场经济体。 但影响最大的地方在哪里呢？ 可悲的是，在那些没有采取任何措施制造问题的国家。 我们必须搭建一座桥梁来帮助解决这种不平衡问题。
第三，应对快速变化、更容易受到冲击的世界的财务能力。 有些地方的财政资源比其他地方要多得多。
因此，我们的机构肩负着巨大的责任，为当今世界和明天的世界做必要的事情。
适应机构
对于基金组织和世行来说，这意味着必须改变思维方式。 我们必须认识到，从本质上讲，我们的任务是相同的，但我们执行这些任务的方式应该发生巨大变化。
对于国际货币基金组织来说，我们有一个明确的使命：宏观经济和金融稳定、增长和就业。
但要在我所描述的世界中实施这一使命——考虑到我们面临的不平衡——需要我们采取更全面的观点。 这在实践中意味着什么？
这意味着更全面地了解人们的复原力——确保他们受教育、健康并拥有良好的社会保护。
这意味着要更全面地看待社会的韧性——而不仅仅是银行业——因为当社会不公平和不公正时，经济就无法为所有人带来最好的成果。
当然，对于我们星球的恢复能力，还有更全面的看法。
当我们采取更全面、更全面的方法来完成我们的任务时，这要求我们审视我们的工作方式、我们的优先事项是什么以及我们部署什么工具。
资源充足重振多边主义
显然，由于我所描述的不平衡，世行和基金组织的首要任务是动员更多优惠和赠款融资。
从减贫与增长信托基金（PRGT）开始。 我们几乎已经达到了满足需求所需的资源。
然而，需求更高，利率更高，因此我们需要更多的补贴资源来弥补贷方收到的市场利率与我们承诺向最脆弱的借款人提供的低于市场利率之间的差额。 这一补贴缺口达 12 亿美元。
我在本次峰会上的呼吁是缩小这一差距。
我和班加总统将于10月赴摩洛哥出席国际货币基金组织和世界银行年会。 这将是半个世纪以来会议首次在非洲大陆举行。
我们将前往那里为非洲提供服务，这意味着拥有强大的国际开发协会（IDA）和强大的贫困和贫困税。
我们还承诺帮助重新调整特别提款权（SDR）的渠道。 因此，如果拥有强大储备地位并接受特别提款权的国家不需要特别提款权，它们就应该通过国际货币基金组织或多边开发银行将特别提款权借给其他国家。
此类资金重组的目标定为 1000 亿美元。 今天我可以宣布我们已经实现了这一目标。
现在，我们必须扬起我们的雄心。
在特别提款权渠道方面，我们首先要求各国提供 2021 年拨款的 20%。 然后我们达到了 30%。 现在我们的要价已提高到 40%。
今天，我们有近 600 亿美元的承诺将通过韧性和可持续发展信托基金 (RST) 以及 PRGT 提供。
对于复原力和可持续发展信托基金，我非常自豪地宣布，我们已经筹集了超过 400 亿美元的资金，接近我们最初的目标。 今天，我利用这次会议要求我们将我们的雄心壮志再增加 200 亿美元——因为我们现在已经有了概念验证。
我们已经有 7 个国家受益，并希望明年还有另外 10 个国家受益。
可以肯定的是，对 RST 的需求非常强劲。 为什么？ 我们历史上首次提供长期融资——还款期为 20 年，宽限期为 10 年。 我们正在以优惠条件向脆弱的中等收入国家提供融资。
在实施 RST 过程中，我们正在与世界银行密切合作。 我们三分之二的 RST 项目的基础是世界银行的分析，例如国家气候和发展报告。
今天，我们将宣布 RST 如何与欧洲投资银行、非洲开发银行和美洲开发银行等其他机构合作，这表明我们兑现了我们的承诺：我们正在共同行动。
我想以以下几点作为结束语。
我们知道，过去几十年来，人均收入增长了数倍。
但是，正如我的统计学教授常说的：如果你把头放进冰箱，把脚放进烤箱，你的温度会是平均水平——但你会死的。
我为什么这么说呢？ 如果我们不重新启动收入趋同的引擎，那么对于收入水平较低、收入滞后的人们来说，全球平均收入增长的事实不会对他们的生活产生任何影响。
我们的机构致力于确保这不是世界的命运。
谢谢。
Barbados prime minister leads push to transform global finance
Mia Mottley renews calls for World Bank and IMF to support poor countries facing poverty and climate threats
Mia Mottley addresses the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, November 2021. The Barbados prime minister is leading calls to reform development finance to better support climate-vulnerable countries (Image: Karwai Tang / COP 26, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Flávia Milhorance April 13, 2023Having emerged in recent years as a leading voice in the developing world’s push for climate finance, Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, renewed her calls for reform of the global development finance system ahead of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) annual spring meetings.
In the lead-up to the week-long gathering in Washington DC, which opened on Monday 10 April, Mottley and Rajiv Shah, the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, wrote that international financial institutions have “not yet done enough” to support poor countries that face multiple converging crises, including climate disasters, poverty and increasing hunger. “When humanity is facing some of the gravest crises in history, an inadequate response has left countries and people feeling increasingly alone,” they said.
90%
The average debt-to-GDP ratio of Caribbean nations. Though not a simple metric of an economy’s health, a ratio above 77% can hinder economic growth, according to the World Bank.
The meeting’s agendas, they added, “offer little reason for optimism” to believe help will come for lower-income countries that are swamped by debt and unable to deal with the climate crisis. Among them are many in Mottley’s own region, the Caribbean, where island nations are highly vulnerable to extreme weather, while debt levels average 90% of GDP.
Mottley took office in 2018 with more than 70% of the vote, becoming the first woman to hold the position since Barbados gained independence from Britain in 1966. Long active in the country’s politics, she has campaigned against pollution, climate change and deforestation, and turned Barbados into “a frontrunner in the global environmental movement”, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
The Barbadian leader has garnered increasing international attention since she delivered a lauded speech at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt in November 2022. At the opening ceremony, she called on developed countries to unlock funding for climate-vulnerable countries. “There is no way that developing countries can fight this battle without access to concessional funding,” she said.
At the conference, Mottley also launched the Bridgetown Initiative, an international coalition made of private, public and philanthropic leaders seeking to reform the global financial architecture. She had first proposed the idea at the 2021 UN climate summit, COP26 in Glasgow, and in July 2022 hosted a meeting to further develop its proposals in Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados that lends the initiative its name.
There is no way developing countries can fight this battle without access to concessional fundingMia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados
The core message of the Bridgetown Initiative is that lower-income countries need new ways to relieve debt and, in turn, invest in climate resilience and mitigation. The group wants the World Bank, IMF and other multilateral financial institutions to take the lead in raising over US$1 trillion a year to support developing countries’ sustainable development and climate goals, as well as making up for loss and damage caused by extreme weather events.
The World Bank–IMF spring meetings bring together central bankers, ministers, private sector executives, civil society representatives and academics. Barbados has not sent a representative to the Washington event, choosing to focus instead on building a strategy for its global coalition that will push for financial reforms.
French president Emmanuel Macron has already backed the Bridgetown Initiative, which was at the centre of the talks during Mottley’s visit to Paris in March. Their next meeting may come in June at the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact, convened by Macron and which will seek to build on the initiative’s calls for reform.
Elsewhere, John Kerry, the United States’ special presidential envoy for climate, has also expressed openness to Mottley’s ideas for multilateral finance reform. The Barbados prime minister has even attracted support from the financial institutions’ leaders, including Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the IMF.
At an opening of the spring meetings on Monday, Georgieva commented that the crises the world faces “have pushed the burden back” onto poor people, and made calls for “structural reforms to uplift productivity” and offer prospects for countries’ growth. In discussion with Georgieva was David Malpass, the president of the World Bank Group, who added that “there is an urgency for policy changes” amid mounting debt crises and climate extremes. He was not explicit, however, on whether these changes included reforms to the financial system.
But questions on whether the World Bank will change its lending model or how it will address poverty and global warming may take longer to be answered, particularly during a transition period at the top. In the coming weeks, Malpass – who has faced fierce criticism and pressure over the bank’s commitment to climate action and his personal stance on climate change – is expected to hand over to Ajay Banga, previously chief executive at Mastercard and a chair of the International Chamber of Commerce.
Barbados PM fights for shake-up of global climate finance
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-65962997
By Justin Rowlatt Climate editor in Paris
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley says rich nations must help developing countries pay for impacts of climate change
World leaders meeting in Paris on Thursday could give poorer countries access to hundreds of billions of dollars to tackle climate change.
Mia Mottley, Barbados' first female PM, is leading the global fight for this money and tells BBC News that her tiny country urgently needs help.
Poorer nations want more money because they did little to cause climate change but face its worst effects.
They also struggle to afford expensive projects like renewable energy.
Climate finance, including funding for flood defences or solar plants, has long been one of the biggest sticking points in climate negotiations.
But Ms Mottley has built a global coalition to support her demand that the international financial system be fundamentally reformed.
"We are all in this together", Ms Mottley told BBC News in Paris. "If we don't realise that, we will not act with the urgency that's necessary to save the planet and save lives."
The Barbadian prime minister is joint host of the Paris conference with President Emmanuel Macron of France.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption,
Dozens of world leaders are attending the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, including the German Chancellor, the president of Brazil and the new president of the World Bank as well as the prime minister of China and the US Treasury Secretary.
The UK is sending its minister for development, Andrew Mitchell.
Ms Mottley is determined the meeting deliver results.
She describes the threat of climate change as "a death sentence" on the world. "If it is a death sentence, then we need to move with urgency," she explains.
Insiders at the summit are expecting an announcement that a target for $100bn worth of a kind of international currency called Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) has been met.
These assets will be transferred to low-income countries to be used for climate programmes.
But Ms Mottley has an even bigger prize in her sights, a plan dubbed the "Bridgetown Agenda" after the Barbadian capital.
It wants to generate more finance for the countries that need it most through a wholesale modernisation of the international monetary system.
The current institutions - including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - were set up by the victorious nations towards the end of the Second World War at a conference in a ski resort called Bretton Woods in New Hampshire, US
The so-called "Bretton Woods system" will celebrate its 80th anniversary next year.
Ms Mottley says she wants to make it fit for the challenges of the modern world by moving the focus away from richer nations and towards delivering outcomes that benefit the entire world, like helping developing countries tackle climate change.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption,
"The reason why these institutions exist is that they were created to help the world in the reconstruction effort after World War Two. We are in a moment that is equal to World War Two with respect to climate," she said.
This week the International Energy Agency warned annual investments in clean energy in developing nations will need to triple from $770bn in 2022 to as much as $2.8tn by the early 2030s if the world is to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
One proposal is that institutions like the World Bank offer cheaper loans for climate action projects.
It is much more expensive to build flood defences in Barbados or Angola than it is in the Netherlands or the UK, Ms Mottley points out.
The same goes for erecting wind turbines or installing solar farms.
That is because low-income countries are charged high interest rates - often two or even three times the rates developed nations face.
Yet the risks of individual projects don't vary anywhere near as much as that.
Another suggestion is that institutions like the World Bank should agree to guarantee loans for climate action in developing nations. That would encourage the private sector to lend at lower interest rates.
Experts say these initiatives could generate hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of loans for climate projects in low-income countries.
Another proposal involves the creation of an auction in which developing nations would bid for cheap finance for climate projects.
This "Climate Mitigation Trust Fund" would be funded by tens of billions of dollars' worth of SDRs and overseen by the IMF and the UN.
The winners would be the projects that reduce global warming fastest.
It is not expected that a final decision will be made on these proposals, but Ms Mottley is confident that progress will be made.
We tell our children we shouldn't put off to tomorrow what we need to do today, Ms Mottley says.
"I find myself actually repeating a lot of things that we would say to children, in order to inform global behaviour today," she continues. "That tells us a lot."
Global Financial Architecture Has Failed Mission to Provide Developing Countries with Safety Net, Secretary-General Tells Summit, Calling for Urgent Reforms
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, 22 June 2023
https://press.un.org/en/2023/sgsm21855.doc.htm
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, in Paris today:
Dear Emmanuel Macron, thank you for organizing this important Summit, amidst an international context fraught with challenges. And thank you, dear Mia Mottley, for the efforts undertaken within the framework of the Bridgetown Initiative. This provides a remarkable foundation to address the difficulties faced by numerous developing countries. Because doing nothing is not an option.
The international financial system is in crisis. Halfway to the 2030 deadline, the Sustainable Development Goals are drifting further away by the day. Even the most fundamental goals on hunger and poverty have gone into reverse after decades of progress.
Yes, in 2023, more than 750 million people do not have enough to eat. And tens of millions more are teetering on the verge of extreme poverty. The COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have exacerbated the situation.
While wealthy countries could print money to revive their economies, developing countries could not do likewise and are grappling with exorbitant borrowing costs — up to eight times higher than those of developed countries.
Many leaders face an agonizing choice: servicing their debt or meeting the needs of their populations. Many African countries now spend more on debt repayments than on health care. With terrible consequences for entire generations.
Today, 52 countries are in default or dangerously close to it. This includes the majority of least developed countries, as well as the majority of the 50 countries most vulnerable to climate change. Dozens of other nations are at risk of joining them.
This situation is untenable. It is clear that the international financial architecture has failed in its mission to provide a global safety net for developing countries.
The reason is simple, like Mia Mottley just told us, this architecture was built in the aftermath of World War II. It essentially reflects, even with some changes, the political and economic power dynamics of that time.
Consider this: over three quarters of today's countries were not present at the creation of the Bretton Woods institutions the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). And the situation is no better for the United Nations and the Security Council, particularly.
Nearly 80 years later, the global financial architecture is outdated, dysfunctional, and unjust. It is no longer capable of meeting the needs of the twenty-first century world: a multipolar world characterized by deeply integrated economies and financial markets, but also marked by geopolitical tensions and growing systemic risks.
International financial institutions are now too small and limited to fulfil their mandate and serve everyone, especially the most vulnerable countries. For example, the World Bank's paid-in capital as a percentage of global gross domestic product (GDP) is now less than a fifth of what it was in 1960 — even though the challenges are far greater.
Even worse, the global financial system perpetuates and even exacerbates inequalities. In 2021, and we applaud this decision, the International Monetary Fund allocated over $650 billion in special drawing rights. European Union countries, including my own, received $160 billion. African countries: $34 billion.
In other words, European citizens received on average nearly 13 times more than African citizens. This was all done by the rules. But, let us acknowledge: these rules have become profoundly immoral. A financial architecture which does not represent today’s world is at risk of leading to its own fragmentation in a world where geopolitics is in itself a factor for fragmentation.
There will be no serious solution to this crisis without serious reforms. I have called for a new Bretton Woods moment — a moment for Governments to come together, re-examine and re-configure the global financial architecture for the twenty-first century.
And earlier this month, as part of our preparations for the Summit of the Future, I put forward a Policy Brief — a detailed blueprint for a redesigned global financial architecture capable of serving as a safety net for all countries.
I have no illusions. This is a question of power and political will, and change will not happen overnight. But, as we work for the deep reforms that are needed, we can take urgent action today to meet the urgent needs of developing and emerging economies.
That is why I have proposed an SDG [Sustainable Development Goals] Stimulus of $500 billion per year for investments in sustainable development and climate action. It includes concrete steps global leaders can take right now.
They can establish a really effective and time effective debt relief mechanism that supports payment suspensions, longer lending terms and lower rates, including for middle income countries with particular vulnerabilities, namely in relation to climate.
They can scale up development and climate finance by increasing the capital base and changing the business model of multilateral development banks and allowing in a much stronger coordination to transform their approach to risk, without risking the AAA [rating] and a lot could be said about the role played by [ratings] agencies that are, in my opinion, deeply biased and have contributed to many of the crises we have faced, and, simultaneously, transforming their approach to risk to massively leverage private finance at affordable cost to developing countries.
And lot has been said today about the need for more guarantees. World leaders can expand contingency financing to countries in need, by rechannelling, in broader scale, unused special drawing rights, and by using other innovative mechanisms to increase global liquidity.
The African Development Bank initiative to re-channel [special drawing rights] to multilateral development banks could multiply their impact by five. This example should be expanded. Global leaders can put in place a mechanism to issue [special drawing rights] automatically in times of crisis and distribute them according to need. They can put a price on carbon and end fossil-fuel subsidies and repurpose them towards more sustainable and productive uses.
And the list of things we can do now goes on and on. The two next days will be useful to take things forward. Taken together, these steps would help to beat poverty and hunger, uplift developing and emerging economies and support investments in health, education and climate action.
We don’t have to wait for root and branch reform of the international financial architecture. We can take steps right now and take a giant leap towards global justice.
I am fully aware of the challenges and headwinds we face. Power dynamics and constraints on global cooperation in today’s world make problems more difficult to solve. But, solutions are not impossible. And we can start now. Your discussions can yield meaningful results for people in need. I urge you to make this meeting not just a cri du cœur for change, but a cri de guerre — a rallying cry for urgent action. We are at a moment of truth and reckoning. Together, we can make it a moment of hope. Thank you.
IMF Managing Director Remarks at the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact
Kristalina GeorgievaThank you, President Macron, for hosting this Summit and for bringing such incredible energy to these important issues of debt, climate, and financing for development.
And thank you for bringing the new World Bank President, Ajay Banga, and me on stage together for the first time in our new roles.
For full disclosure, we have been on stage together before, discussing women’s empowerment and financial inclusion. I have no doubt that we will be great partners in the next chapter of our institutions’ work together.
A rapidly changing and unbalanced world
Let me start by saying that the IMF and the World Bank were created in 1944 and since then the world has changed dramatically. At that time, there were 99 countries.
Now there is more than double that number – the IMF has 190 members – so on that basis alone the Bretton Woods institutions are dramatically different to when they were created.
At the same time, the global population more than tripled, and the world economy – as measured by GDP -- increased more than 10 times. The simple math means that the average income per capita has more than tripled.
So, we have a richer world. But it is a world with huge imbalances.
First, we have youth in some places and capital in different places. Unless we build a bridge for capital to flow where young people are [to create jobs and prosperity], not only would we undermine prospects for growth, but we would also undermine global stability.
Two, climate. The sources of emissions – historically and now – are primarily in advanced economies and large emerging market economies. But where is most of the impact? Tragically, in countries that have done nothing to create the problem. We must build a bridge to help address this imbalance.
Three, financial capacity to cope with a fast-changing, more shock prone world. Financial resources are much larger in some places than in others.
And so – our institutions have a huge responsibility to do what is necessary for the world today and the world tomorrow.
Adapting institutions
For the Fund and for the Bank, this translates into the imperative of a change in mindset. We must recognize that – at their core – our mandates are the same but how we implement these mandates should change dramatically.
For the IMF, we have a clear mission: macroeconomic and financial stability, growth, and employment.
But to implement this mission in the world I described – with the imbalances we face – requires us to take a much more comprehensive view. What does that mean in practice?
It means a more comprehensive view of the resilience of people – to ensure they are educated, healthy and have good social protection.
It means a more comprehensive view of the resilience of society – not just in the banking sector – because when society is unfair and unjust the economy cannot deliver the best fruit for all people.
And of course, a more comprehensive view when it comes to the resilience of our planet.
And when we take that more holistic, more comprehensive approach to our mandate – that requires us to examine how we work, what our priorities are, and what instruments we deploy.
Well-resourced reinvigorated multilateralism
Clearly a top priority for both the Bank and the Fund is to mobilize more concessional and grant financing because of the imbalances I have described.
Start with the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT). We have almost reached the resources we need to meet demand.
Yet, demand is higher, interest rates are higher –so we need more subsidy resources to make up the difference between the market rates received by lenders and the below market rates we are committed to offer to our most vulnerable borrowers. This subsidy gap stands at US$1.2 billion.
My appeal at this Summit is to close this gap.
President Banga and I will go to Morocco for the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in October. This will be the first time in half a century that the meetings will take place on the African continent.
We will go there to deliver for Africa and that means having a strong International Development Association (IDA) and a strong PRGT.
We have also promised to help re-channel Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). So if countries in strong reserve positions that receive SDRs don't need them, they should lend their SDRs to others – through the Fund or through multilateral development banks.
The target for such rechanneling was set at US$100 billion. And I can announce today that we reached that target.
Now, we must lift our ambition.
On SDR channeling, we started with a request for countries to channel 20 percent of their 2021 allocation. Then we went to 30 percent. And now we are moving to an ask of 40 percent.
Today we have close to US$60 billion in pledges to be channeled through the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) and through the PRGT.
And - for the Resilience and Sustainability Trust, I'm very proud to announce that we have raised more than US$40 billion – close to our original target. Today, I'm using this meeting to ask that we lift our ambition by an additional US$20 billion -- because we now have proof of concept.
We already have seven countries benefiting and hope for another 10 countries to benefit next year.
For sure, demand for the RST has been very strong. Why? For the first time in our history, we are offering long-term financing – with a 20-year repayment period and a 10-year grace period. And we are providing financing to vulnerable middle-income countries on concessional terms.
In implementing the RST, we are working closely with the World Bank. It is the analytics of the World Bank, such as the Country Climate and Development Reports, that underpin two thirds of our RST programs.
And today we will announce how the RST is working with other institutions, such as the European Investment Bank, the African Development Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank – showing that we deliver on what we pledged to do: we are acting together.
I want to conclude with the following.
We know that average income per capita has increased by several multiples over the past decades.
But, as my professor of statistics used to say: if you put your head in the refrigerator, and your feet in the oven, your temperature would be average – but you would be dead.
Why do I say this? If we don't restart the engine of income convergence, then – for people lower down the income spectrum whose income is lagging – the fact that the average global income is increasing would not make any difference to their lives.
Our institutions are committed to ensure this is not the fate of the world.
Thank you.
