World bank and IMF Spring Meetings: How can the reformed institutions play a leading role in funding the transition?
Rethinking how development can be financed to take into account the rising challenges of our time is a fastidious task, especially when thousands of experts, decision makers and practitioners want to leave their print. The outline of the new international financial architecture is being debated again this week, with more questions open for discussion than consensus on the answers.
As the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings are coming to a close, we are turning another page in the chapter on reforming these Bretton Woods institutions, 80 years since their establishment in 1944.
How can the reformed institutions play a leading role in funding the transition to a low-emissions, climate-resilient and just future? What comes out of this week’s meetings will help further define the role of some of the protagonists (governments, public and private financial institutions) in channelling financial flows in the right direction.
One essential aspect is the leadership of international financial institutions, and more broadly, public financial institutions, in aligning all financial flows with the objectives set in the Paris Agreement. Together with E3G, NewClimate Institute and Germanwatch, I4CE made its own contribution by publishing a position paper on what an ambitious alignment with Paris Agreement objectives should look like for public financial institutions. Another critical ongoing discussion that I4CE is closely following relates to the impact of some of the instruments that public financial institutions choose to channel public funds where needed. Read our blogpost on how we seize the opportunity to question how financial intermediation can further contribute to financing the climate transition.