April 17, (THEWILL) – Members of the Global Alliance for a Green New Deal, a unique alliance of 27 parliamentarians from 22 nations, including US Representatives, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib; the United Kingdom’s Green MP, Caroline Lucas and Brazilian Congresswoman, Joenia Wapichana, along with MPs from Rwanda, Nigeria, Bangladesh and the Philippines and others, have written a letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urging it to take up Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s proposal to scale up finance for carbon-cutting projects in the developing world.
Pointing out that national plans to tackle the climate crisis are of little use without the finance to back them in a speech at the World Leaders Summit at COP26, Mottley called for the extension of $500 billion in Special Drawing Rights – the international equivalent of quantitative easing – each year for the next 20 years.
“The world’s least developed countries need a massive boost in technical and financial support to achieve development and climate goals: expanding energy access, transitioning to renewable sources, protecting, and enhancing biodiversity, safeguarding and enhancing indigenous lands, creating decent, green jobs and building resilience against the impacts of the climate and nature crises already battering them. That is why we urge you, at this, your first meeting since the Prime Minister of Barbados first proposed the extension of significant volumes of SDRs in response to the climate and nature crises, to consider her proposal,” members of the Global Alliance said, in their letter to IMF.
The letter came just days after the IPCC’s Working Group III report made clear both the urgency with which the world must act to keep within 1.5 degrees of global heating, and just how far financial flows fall short of the levels needed to achieve emissions-cutting goals across all sectors and regions.
“The IPCC couldn’t have been clearer. We have run out of last chance saloons and must act now to rapidly reduce emissions. The technologies to harness the abundant energy from wind, waves and sun that can keep us within 1.5C exist. What is lacking is the political will. Nations like the United Kingdom that are disproportionately responsible for the crises we are living through, must take a lead in rapidly ending fossil fuel use, but now is also the time for the IMF to show that it is fit for purpose. By cancelling unpayable debts, abolishing punitive surcharges and making the billions in low-cost finance available that low- and middle-income nations need, the IMF could help the world meet the greatest challenge of the twenty-first century.” said UK MP, Caroline Lucas.
“Climate adaptation continues to be grossly underfunded. In addition, compared to advanced economies, post COVID19 the speed and duration of recovery in Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States will be much slower and longer. This facility is desperately needed to avert climate catastrophe.” added Bangladeshi MP, Saber Chowdhury.
“I am proud to work with global partners to call on the IMF to expand finance to low-and-middle income countries for climate adaptation,” said US Representative, Ilhan Omar. “We are in a global climate crisis and need to ensure every country, especially the most vulnerable, has the technical and financial support to combat this existential threat to humanity. That’s why it’s imperative we act as a global community to counteract this devastation and create a liveable planet for all.”
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