Climate Change: No Time to Waste
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA
- Published: September 2, 2021
Urgency and public awareness
- Author and context:
- KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
- F&D Magazine, September 2021.
- Public concern:
- A majority of people consider climate change a global emergency—“well above half in middle-income and least developed countries, and nearly three-quarters among people in small island states and high-income countries.”
- The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened concerns: "43 percent are more worried about climate change now."
- Framing:
- The issue’s cover art by Nor Tijan Firdaus depicts consequences of changing climate, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.
- Call to action: “We have no time to waste. As we look ahead to COP26, we must be ready to move decisively—together.”
Lessons from COVID-19 and the need for rapid action
- Innovation and policy lessons:
- Breakthroughs in science and technology (COVID-19 vaccines) are presented as a model for rapid development and commercialization of low-carbon technologies.
- Policy responses to the pandemic show that governments can take unprecedented action when needed.
- Imperative:
- “It is critical to act with the same determination to address climate change and speedily put in place policies that can make a difference.”
Key policy prescriptions
- Remove fossil fuel subsidies:
- Recommendation: “Rid itself of all fossil fuel subsidies—equivalent to more than $5 trillion annually.”
- Carbon pricing:
- Robust carbon pricing needed to redirect private investment and encourage energy efficiency.
- Specific target: average global carbon price of "$75 per ton by 2030," up from "today’s $3 per ton."
- Institutional option: “Major emitters agreeing on an international carbon price floor would be a good start.”
- Scale up green investments:
- IMF staff research projects that green supply policies could "raise global GDP by about 2 percent this decade and create millions of new jobs."
- Financing mix: "On average, about 30 percent of new investment is expected from public sources," making private finance mobilization vital.
- Just transition measures:
- Use revenues from carbon pricing for cash transfers, social safety nets, retraining, and other compensation for workers and businesses in affected high-emission sectors.
- Examples cited: Germany’s national emissions trading system and the EU’s planned Just Transition Mechanism.
- International support: developed economies should fulfill their commitment to provide "$100 billion a year in climate finance for the developing world."
Summary conclusions
- Central message: Translate concern into action through market signals, scaled green investment, and policies ensuring a just transition.
- Final injunction: “We know what must be done; now we must do.”
Kristalina Georgieva, F&D Magazine, September 2021. International Monetary Fund.
Content in this bundle
- لا وقت نضيعه
- No hay tiempo que perder ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Septiembre de 2021
- Pas de temps à gaspiller
- Kristalina Georgieva: No Time to Waste – IMF F&D
- Нельзя терять время – Финансы и развитие – Нельзя терять время– сентябрь 2021 года
- 刻不容缓 - 金融与发展 - 国际货币基金组织季刊 2021年9月号·第58卷·第3期