Top story

Inaction and wishful thinking: G20 summit shows why we must go back to true multilateralism

G20 leaders met in Rome last weekend to address what they termed “today’s most pressing global challenges”. In the end they took no meaningful new decisions. The photo opportunity with G20 leaders throwing a coin into the Trevi fountain was a potent symbol of what the Summit turned out to be: wishful thinking without any action. Read more

You can also click here to read a press release issued by Eurodad ahead of the G20 summit titled "As G20 meets to rubberstamp OECD tax deal, 130+ developing countries push for UN tax body".

News

#TheFutureIsPublic: Civil society calls for a renewed approach to public services to address global crises

Civil society organisations and movements joined forces to launch a landmark manifesto calling for a renewed approach to public services to address the ecological, inequalities and other crises the world is currently facing. The launch of the manifesto was followed by “Enough is enough: The Future is Public”, an event bringing together eight human rights officials to discuss the crucial role of public services in building a more sustainable, inclusive, socially-just and resilient economy and society. 

Read more | Rewatch the webinar

Read the manifesto in English | Spanish | French | Portuguese | Russian | Swahili

Making sense of Belize's Blue Bond Proposal

Lauded by its proponents as a “ground-breaking” and “innovative approach,” the proposal raises concerns upon closer review and is likely to turn into a costly missed opportunity for everyone involved. Read our full analysis here. 

Annual Meetings 2021: Political games while the world burns

Business as usual prevailed over the need for genuine reform during the Annual Meetings of the Bretton Woods Institutions earlier this month. This blog series reflects particularly on the Doing Business Report scandal, the allocation of rich countries' unused Special Drawing Rights and the debt crisis. Read part 1, part 2 and part 3. 

Eurodad Policy Forum 2021 - Opening Webinar

Join the opening webinar of our Policy Forum 2021 on 22 November, where we will discuss whether the Covid-19 crisis is a portal or a dead end for economic justice. Interpretation will be available in Spanish and French. Register today.

Blogs and analysis

Second Finance in Common Summit: Still steering Public Development Banks down the same privatisation path

Following the first FiC summit last year, this year’s summit was also focused on the role of PDBs in mobilising financial resources to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement. Key themes included the goal of transforming food systems, adaptation to climate change and the preservation of biodiversity.

Useful resources

Skilling up to Scale up: A guide to COP26 for development finance organisations

This toolkit aims to inform those who are new to COP processes and provides suggestions on how to engage in COP26. It also includes a set of policy recommendations for COP26 on climate finance.

No more loans? How creditors torpedo debt relief initiatives

By Erlassjahr.de

The debt relief initiatives established in the context of the Covid-19 crisis threaten to fail because poorer countries are reluctant to participate. One reason for this is the claim made primarily by private creditors that the beneficiaries of debt relief exclude themselves long-term from the capital market. However, more important than any short-term downgrade of participating countries is the question whether the debt relief goes far enough to facilitate an economic restart.

The IIF & debt relief - How the Institute of International Finance lobbies to prevent private debt relief for developing countries

By SOMO

This report exposes how the IIF has been given a privileged role by the G20 to facilitate debt relief by private creditors to the poorest countries, but has failed to deliver debt payment suspension or cancellation under the G20 DSSI.

Lower income countries spend five times more on debt than dealing with climate change

By Jubilee Debt Campaign UK

This briefing sheds light on how lower income countries are spending over five times more on external debt payments than projects to protect people from the impacts of climate change. 

Atlas of vulnerability: Developing countries and the pandemic

By LATINDADD and Jubilee USA

An interactive tool shows how multiple vulnerabilities affect 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, going beyond simple economic metrics such as the average per capita income. It presents a broad range of socio-economic, financial and environmental factors that together give a holistic picture of the damage being done by the greatest global economic crisis since the 1920s.

Debt and pandemic in middle-income countries

By AFRODAD, APMDD, Eurodad and Jubilee USA

This briefing looks at the effects of the crisis, vulnerabilities, and the limitations of the G20 initiatives, and at strategic debt solutions and improvements to the initiatives needed to give middle-income countries a way out of the pandemic.

Job vacancies

Health policy & advocacy advisor - Oxfam (Deadline: 7 November)

Call for tenders for proofreading/copyediting - Eurodad (Deadline: 12 November)

Upcoming events

22 - 26 November | Eurodad Policy Forum 2021 

For a full list of upcoming events and how to register, visit eurodad.org/events

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.