Western countries must help their poorer peers to get out of debt if they are serious about climate action and the clean energy transition, urged Rachel Kyte, dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a former World Bank special envoy for climate change, as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held their annual meetings last week.
“It is very difficult to talk about climate finance or financing a green transition if you are debt distressed,” Ms Kyte said during an online event organised by the New Statesman Media Group. Sixty per cent of low-income countries and 30% of emerging markets are in debt distress, she told attendees.
