Climate Change

Overview

The IMF and Climate Change

Climate change presents a major threat to long-term growth and prosperity, and it has a direct impact on the economic wellbeing of all countries.

The IMF has a role to play in helping its members address those challenges of climate change for which fiscal and macroeconomic policies are an important component of the appropriate policy response.

The Fund publishes research on economic implications of climate change and provides policy advice to our membership to help them capture the opportunities of low-carbon, resilient growth.

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Our Policy Guidance Relates to:

  1. Mitigation: including advice on measures to contain and reduce emissions through policies—such as increasing carbon taxes, reducing fuel subsidies and improving regulation—and providing tools to help countries achieve their Nationally Determined Contributions.
  2. Adaptation: including guidance on building financial and institutional resilience to natural disasters and extreme weather events, and infrastructure investments to cope with rising sea levels and other warming-related phenomena.
  3. Transition to a low-carbon economy: including updates to financial sector regulation to cover climate risks and exposure to “brown” assets, as well as measures to help countries diversify economies away from carbon intensive industries while mitigating the social impact on affected communities.

What's new

Food Insecurity and Climate Shocks in Madagascar: Republic of Madagascar
June 5, 2023

Food insecurity dramatically increased in Madagascar over the last 10 years, hampering human development. Using most recent data and surveys conducted by UN Agencies and local authorities, this paper analyzes the root causes of food insecurity in Madagascar related to demographic vulnerabilities, multidimensional poverty, lack of education, as well as structural weaknesses in the food value chain and the lack of basic infrastructure, such as irrigation and transportation, that hamper agricultural activity development. Moreover, Madagascar is exposed to a large variety of climate shocks that climate change will likely exacerbate. This paper formulates country specific macroeconomic and operational policy recommendations in collaboration with the World Food Program to reduce food insecurity, which include i) measures to improve the emergency response and preparedness, ii) policies to address structural food insecurity, by improving the food chain and addressing challenges posed by climate shocks, and iii) measures to improve Green PFM and climate related public investment management to invest in long-term resilience and mobilize external financing.

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Uruguay: Selected Issues
May 23, 2023

Selected Issues

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Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, April 2023
April 14, 2023

Growth in sub-Saharan Africa will decline to 3.6 percent this year. Amid a global slowdown, activity is expected to decelerate for a second year in a row. Still, this headline figure masks significant variation across the region. The funding squeeze will also impact the region’s longer-term outlook. A shortage of funding may force countries to reduce resources for critical development sectors like health, education, and infrastructure, weakening the region’s growth potential.

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Global Food Crisis Update: Recent Developments, Outlook, and IMF Engagement
April 12, 2023

The global food crisis remains a major challenge. Food insecurity fueled by widely experienced increases in the cost of living has become a growing concern especially in low-income countries, even if price pressures on global food markets have softened somewhat since the onset of Russia’s war in Ukraine in February 2022. Targeted assistance to the most vulnerable households combined with policy measures to support trade and agriculture systems, including to better cope with climate shocks, can help countries withstand the fallout of the ongoing food crisis while building longer-term resilience. The IMF, working in close cooperation with other international organizations, has continued to contribute to international efforts to alleviate food insecurity by providing policy advice, capacity development, and financial support through Upper Credit Tranche Arrangements and the new Food Shock Window. New commitments to countries particularly affected by the global food crisis total $13.2 billion since February 2022, of which $3.7 billion has been disbursed as of March 2023.

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How Large is the Sovereign Greenium?
April 7, 2023

This paper assembles a comprehensive sovereign green bond database and estimates the sovereign greenium. The development of green bond markets has been one of the most important financial breakthroughs in the domain of sustainable finance during the last 15 years. A central benefit associated with green bonds has been that they exhibit a positive green premium (greenium), i.e., a lower yield relative to a similar conventional bond. Yet, issuances at the sovereign level have been relatively recent and not well documented in the literature. We find that green bonds are issued at a relatively small premium (4 basis points on average) in Advanced Economies. Yet, importantly, the greenium is growing over time and is considerably larger (11 basis points on average) for Emerging Market Economies.

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Sweden: Financial Sector Assessment Program–Technical Note on Supervision and Disclosure of Climate-Related Risks
April 5, 2023

Swedish banks are in general mainly exposed to the effects of climate change through loans that are collateralized by real estate properties and lending to high-emission industries.

Read More

Food Insecurity and Climate Shocks in Madagascar: Republic of Madagascar
June 5, 2023

Food insecurity dramatically increased in Madagascar over the last 10 years, hampering human development. Using most recent data and surveys conducted by UN Agencies and local authorities, this paper analyzes the root causes of food insecurity in Madagascar related to demographic vulnerabilities, multidimensional poverty, lack of education, as well as structural weaknesses in the food value chain and the lack of basic infrastructure, such as irrigation and transportation, that hamper agricultural activity development. Moreover, Madagascar is exposed to a large variety of climate shocks that climate change will likely exacerbate. This paper formulates country specific macroeconomic and operational policy recommendations in collaboration with the World Food Program to reduce food insecurity, which include i) measures to improve the emergency response and preparedness, ii) policies to address structural food insecurity, by improving the food chain and addressing challenges posed by climate shocks, and iii) measures to improve Green PFM and climate related public investment management to invest in long-term resilience and mobilize external financing.

Read More
Uruguay: Selected Issues
May 23, 2023

Selected Issues

Read More
Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, April 2023
April 14, 2023

Growth in sub-Saharan Africa will decline to 3.6 percent this year. Amid a global slowdown, activity is expected to decelerate for a second year in a row. Still, this headline figure masks significant variation across the region. The funding squeeze will also impact the region’s longer-term outlook. A shortage of funding may force countries to reduce resources for critical development sectors like health, education, and infrastructure, weakening the region’s growth potential.

Read More
Global Food Crisis Update: Recent Developments, Outlook, and IMF Engagement
April 12, 2023

The global food crisis remains a major challenge. Food insecurity fueled by widely experienced increases in the cost of living has become a growing concern especially in low-income countries, even if price pressures on global food markets have softened somewhat since the onset of Russia’s war in Ukraine in February 2022. Targeted assistance to the most vulnerable households combined with policy measures to support trade and agriculture systems, including to better cope with climate shocks, can help countries withstand the fallout of the ongoing food crisis while building longer-term resilience. The IMF, working in close cooperation with other international organizations, has continued to contribute to international efforts to alleviate food insecurity by providing policy advice, capacity development, and financial support through Upper Credit Tranche Arrangements and the new Food Shock Window. New commitments to countries particularly affected by the global food crisis total $13.2 billion since February 2022, of which $3.7 billion has been disbursed as of March 2023.

Read More
How Large is the Sovereign Greenium?
April 7, 2023

This paper assembles a comprehensive sovereign green bond database and estimates the sovereign greenium. The development of green bond markets has been one of the most important financial breakthroughs in the domain of sustainable finance during the last 15 years. A central benefit associated with green bonds has been that they exhibit a positive green premium (greenium), i.e., a lower yield relative to a similar conventional bond. Yet, issuances at the sovereign level have been relatively recent and not well documented in the literature. We find that green bonds are issued at a relatively small premium (4 basis points on average) in Advanced Economies. Yet, importantly, the greenium is growing over time and is considerably larger (11 basis points on average) for Emerging Market Economies.

Read More
Sweden: Financial Sector Assessment Program–Technical Note on Supervision and Disclosure of Climate-Related Risks
April 5, 2023

Swedish banks are in general mainly exposed to the effects of climate change through loans that are collateralized by real estate properties and lending to high-emission industries.

Read More

Videos

Climate PIMA
April 6, 2022
What Are Global Public Goods?
December 2, 2021

You probably use some form of a public goods, roads, schools, they are things everybody can benefit from and enjoy without them ever being used up.

What is Carbon Pricing?
September 17, 2021

What is carbon pricing and how can it help fight climate change? Find out in this ‘Back to Basics’ video.

Finland Leads the Way with Climate-Friendly Wood Innovations
September 9, 2021

Finland was the first country to introduce a carbon tax in 1990. Now the country aims to be the first advanced carbon-neutral country by 2035. A look at how wood is helping to achieve this goal

A green recovery that delivers on the Paris Climate Agreement is possible if governments act now, decisively, together.
December 11, 2020

The IMF believes we can put the world on a path to zero emissions. How can we do it? Find out how the IMF helps its members to address the looming climate crisis.

Country Reports

Blogs

Europe, And the World, Should Use Green Subsidies Cooperatively
May 11, 2023

A coordinated approach, including toward subsidies, is needed to tackle climate change successfully

Support for Climate Action Hinges on Public Understanding of Policy
February 9, 2023

Novel survey shows how concerned people are about climate change, how they view mitigation polices, and what drives support for climate action

Confronting Fragmentation Where It Matters Most: Trade, Debt, and Climate Action
January 16, 2023

Fragmentation could make it even more difficult to help many vulnerable emerging and developing economies that have been hard hit by multiple shocks

How Economies and Financial Systems Can Better Gauge Climate Risks
January 4, 2023

With the right tools, policymakers can help to manage the climate risks impacting economies and financial systems

Swapping Debt for Climate or Nature Pledges Can Help Fund Resilience
December 14, 2022

Innovative debt swaps can help governments that have limited access to traditional grants or debt relief

Bridging Data Gaps Can Help Tackle the Climate Crisis
November 28, 2022

A new data gaps initiative will play an important role in addressing climate-related data deficits