Top story

IMF-WB Annual Meetings: High expectations, poor outcomes

This week, the World Bank and IMF had the opportunity to take important steps to support countries in the global south as they deal with multiple crises. They could also have responded to the Doing Business scandal by undertaking immediate and structural reform. Unfortunately, the lack of action has been utterly unsatisfactory. What is worse, calls for countries to ‘calibrate their fiscal space’ and for ‘people-oriented fiscal consolidation’ threaten to unleash further austerity.

Read our press release

News

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.

OECD tax deal is unfair and fails to solve the problem

The OECD has produced a deal that has strong biases towards the interests of larger and richer countries, at the expense of the world’s poorest countries.

Eurodad reaction to the Pandora Papers tax scandal

On 3 October the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published yet another global tax scandal – known as the #PandoraPapers. The investigation presents the findings from a leak of more than 12 million documents. Once again, at the centre of the scandal is the use of secret shell companies by politicians and the ultra-wealthy elite.

Reports

Reclaiming sustainable infrastructure as a public good

Infrastructure is key to improving living conditions worldwide, but the current push to attract (often foreign) private finance to projects in the global south risks undermining development objectives. In this report, Eurodad and partners ask how can we reclaim sustainable infrastructure as a public good?

Read the report in English | Spanish

Read the accompanying case studies

Debt & climate campaign

Even though rich countries are responsible for the climate crisis we are now facing, the global south are paying for it. Eurodad, together with 200+ organisations and movements are calling on world leaders to #CancelTheDebt and deliver on climate finance, as there is no climate justice without debt justice. 

Use the resources below to join the campaign online, and add your voice for #ClimateDebtJustice!

Watch the video on YouTube

Read the statement

To raise awareness of the vicious circle of the debt and climate crises, nearly 200 organisations and movements have released the following statement. Click here to sign on behalf of your organisation.

The Climate Emergency:  What’s debt got to do with it?

To help answer some of the most frequently asked questions, Eurodad has put together this document, which includes tips on how to get involved.

Blogs & analysis

How the Doing Business scandal has exposed the weak accountability of the Bretton Woods Institutions

The Doing Business scandal brought the Bank's structural problems into the public eye, namely the weak independence and integrity of its research and the widespread conflict of interest in its policy advice.

Our proposals for a WB IDA20 replenishment package that delivers for the most vulnerable

Eurodad calls for an ambitious IDA20 replenishment package that ensures that developing countries have access to concessional resources to address their democratically-determined recovery needs. Read the joint statement by AFRODAD, the Bretton Woods Project and Eurodad.

Useful resources

The Public Versus Austerity: Why public sector wage bill constraints must end

By ActionAid

In the light of Covid, the growing debt crisis, rising inequality, gender injustice and the climate crisis, there is an urgent need to revisit the fundamental redistributive role of states and to reimagine the public sector.

Development banks have no business financing agribusiness

On Monday, public development banks gathered for #FinanceInCommon2021, a coalition of more than 280 civil society organisations call for an immediate end to the financing of corporate agribusiness operations and speculative investments.

Upcoming events

26 October | Enough is enough: the future is public - Reclaiming public services for a just recovery

SAVE THE DATE | Week of 22 November | Eurodad Policy Forum

More information to come.

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.