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2022: The year of uncertainty

As many countries welcomed in the new year they were also hit by Omicron, yet another even more infectious variant of the Coronavirus. The world is once again faced with the common challenge of dealing with a new turn in the pandemic. One year ago we entered 2021 with a spirit of optimism that the pandemic could be overcome if the international community rose to the challenge of ensuring equal vaccine access to all countries, starting with those sections of society that needed it the most. The outlook for 2022 is much bleaker.

Read more in our latest blog

News

Why the IMF Resilience and Sustainability Trust is not a silver bullet for Covid-19 recovery and the fight against climate change

Last week the IMF published a blog disclosing some key design features of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST), confirming that countries will need to have a pre-existing programme to be eligible and that programmes will rely on conditionality designed in conjunction with the World Bank and other institutions. In this Twitter thread we outline the most worrying aspects of the RST, that may reproduce the inequalities of the current system and award the IMF additional powers outside of its mandate. You can also read our blog on the RST again here.

Banking on development? The rise of the EIB as a development bank

On 1 January a new development branch of the European Investment Bank (EIB) went into operation. This was approved by the bank’s Board of Directors in September 2021, following relatively limited conversations on how to improve the European architecture for development. This branch aims to reorganise the EIB’s activities outside the European Union and enhance engagement with external partners through the provision of targeted strategies and services. Read our full analysis here. 

Joint civil society organisations’ letter to the EIB Board of Directors on the draft Environmental and Social Sustainability Framework

Ahead of the adoption of the EIB’s Environmental and Social Sustainability Framework (ESSF), civil society organisations are calling on the EIB Directors to adopt a stronger set of policies and standards guiding its future operations, especially at a time when the EIB is creating a development branch and undergoing a transformation into the “EU Climate Bank”.

CSOs call for open public consultation on the IMF’s forthcoming Gender Strategy

Eighty-one civil society organisations - including Eurodad - are calling on the IMF Board to support an open and meaningful public consultation process around the forthcoming Gender Strategy.

Webinar summary: Using debt-for-climate swaps to solve two crises at once

On 13 January, the Boston University Global Development Policy (GDP) Center and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Centre hosted a webinar discussion on the potential for using debt-for-climate swaps as an innovative solution to the twin crises of climate change and debt distress. Our debt expert Iolanda Fresnillo took part. Read more and watch the webinar

Reports

Briefing: Reclaiming sustainable infrastructure as a public good

Infrastructure is key for achieving sustainable development and for improving the living conditions of people across the world. Building on our work with partners from the global north and south, last month we published the briefing "Reclaiming sustainable infrastructure as a public good", which is based on a longer report.

Read the briefing | Read the full report again in English, French and Spanish | Read the full case studies

Growing global debt crisis to worsen with interest rate rises

by Jubilee Debt Campaign

High debt payments are preventing many countries from tackling and recovering from the Covid pandemic. Rising US and global interest rates in 2022 could further intensify the debt crisis many lower income countries are facing.

Useful resources

An assessment of the debt reduction-development contracts, France’s debt-swap mechanism

By Dette & Développement

What lessons can be drawn from twenty years of implementing Debt Reduction-Development Contracts? This report evaluates the recent history of C2Ds, the French government's debt-swap mechanism. After 20 years of implementation, the outcomes of the Debt Reduction-Development Contracts back up the PFDD’s initial analysis that they were not – and still are not – a satisfactory response to the debt crisis and the financing needs of developing countries. Click here to read the French version.

World Bank: Common Framework insufficient

By Erlassjahr.de

Many countries find themselves in a highly critical debt situation and urgently need real debt relief. However, the G20 Common Framework is not suitable for granting efficient and sustainable debt relief. In its current form, it resembles the unsustainable debt restructuring measures of the early 1980s, that led to a “lost development decade” in many countries of the global south.

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This newsletter has been produced with co-funding from the European Union, Bread for the World and Norad. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Eurodad and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the funders.