ECA MEDIA ADVISORY
What: Roundtable Discussion with the Sustainable Debt Coalition and Friends on the margins of The Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris. The Coalition will present actionable recommendations on the theme of debt and climate change. These recommendations have been endorsed by the 55th Conference of Ministers of the Economic Commission for Africa. The meeting will cover various priorities, including debtor-defined key performance indicators, sustainable budgeting approaches, mechanisms for automatic debt suspension during climatic events, sovereign debt guarantees, debt relief steps, and governance reform in international financial institutions.
Who: ECA, Sustainable Debt Coalition and Friends
Date and Time: 22 June 2023, 16:30hrs
Where: Location: OECD Building, Paris
Registration: Register to attend here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMlceqgrzIoHNA8YYLHkXLy8V9O2y6Cymsa#/registration
Background:
Developing countries are currently facing numerous challenges, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing war in Europe, and the global economic crisis. These challenges are further compounded by the escalating economic costs of climate change. As a result, the ratio of public debt to GDP has risen in developing countries, jeopardizing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Shockingly, statistics from the World Bank reveal that 57% of African governments allocate more funds to debt servicing than healthcare, and 17% allocate more to debt servicing than education.
The Sustainable Debt Coalition (the Coalition) aims to address these issues by fostering collaboration between creditor and borrower nations, with a focus on sustainability and debt management. The Coalition's objectives include reducing debt costs, expanding access to sovereign debt guarantees and blended finance, and creating fiscal space for investments with positive environmental outcomes. These goals were outlined in the declaration of the Sustainable Debt Coalition issued in Sharm Elsheikh, Egypt, on 9 November 2022.
At the roundtable discussion, the Coalition will present actionable recommendations on the theme of debt and climate change. These recommendations have been endorsed by the 55th Conference of Ministers of the Economic Commission for Africa. The meeting will cover various priorities, including debtor-defined key performance indicators, sustainable budgeting approaches, mechanisms for automatic debt suspension during climatic events, sovereign debt guarantees, debt relief steps, and governance reform in international financial institutions.
For media inquiries and interviews with expert officials, please contact:
In Paris: Sophia Scheidewind: sophia.schneidewind@un.org
In Addis Ababa: Sophia Denekew, Media Relations eca-info@un.org