On September 9, 2020 at 4pm (CEST) IIED will be hosting a online discussion on how debt relief can be addressed through climate and nature programme swaps.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, urgent debt relief is needed. For many developing countries, repayments mean that vast amounts of money are diverted away from action on the climate emergency and biodiversity loss as well as education, health and infrastructure. Millions more vulnerable people are being pushed into poverty.
What are the opportunities and challenges of such an approach? What role can creditors from multilateral organisations and bilateral governments, and debtor governments play? And to what extent can such an approach support a sustainable post-COVID-19 recovery?