A broad range of stakeholders led by legislators, national agencies, and non-government groups pledged together to accelerate the roll out of climate and disaster risk finance and insurance (CDRFI) initiatives to protect vulnerable communities from the worsening impacts of climate change.
As the United States and the world lurch toward a recession, the poorest and most vulnerable countries face a seemingly impossible set of circumstances. The group of 58 climate-vulnerable countries known as the V20 have lost 20 percent of their combined gross domestic product this century due to climate damages, according to a recent report. Meanwhile, these poorer countries also face rising food and commodity costs, the devastating effects of Covid-19, and ongoing vaccine apartheid. As the Federal Reserve moves to raise interest rates in the name of combating inflation, V20 nations appear to be reaching a breaking point. “The climate crisis is the debt crisis,” said Sara Jane Ahmed, finance advisor to the V20.
WASHINGTON DC, 19 October 2022 – At the recently held annual meetings here of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, the Vulnerable 20 Group of Finance Ministers (V20) called for debt restructuring and other global financing reforms to help them manage the economic threats of both debt and climate change. The Philippines was the founding chair of the V20 in its establishment in 2015.
The V20 Group of Finance Ministers from 58 climate-vulnerable economies today demanded reforms in the global financing architecture as they face mounting economic threats from climate disasters and debt. V20 countries have at least USD435 billion of debt servicing payments due in four years at a time when new investment is severely needed, the Group noted in its V20 Ministerial Dialogue IX Communique.
The V20 Group of Finance Ministers from climate vulnerable economies and the G7 Presidency today announced they have reached agreement on a financial protection cooperation that responds to loss and damage as a contribution to the Paris Agreement on climate change. V20 and G7 will jointly launch the Global Shield against Climate Risks at COP27 in a wider effort to accelerate pre-arranged financing at speed and scale.
