Inaugural GCA Ministerial Dialogue on Adaptation Action: Opening Remarks by Kristalina Georgieva
IMF News, January 25, 2021
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- Published: January 25, 2021
Key messages
- Urgent collective action is required: "we need all hands on deck."
- Three core points:
- This is the year for action.
- Policies matter.
- The IMF is stepping up.
"This is the year for action" — findings and projections
- In the emergency response to Covid 19, only a tiny fraction of G20 spending was climate-related.
- IMF analysis: a coordinated green infrastructure push, combined with the right carbon price signal, could boost global GDP in the next 15 years on average by 0.7 percent.
- A coordinated green push would also:
- create millions of jobs, addressing pandemic-related job losses and rising automation;
- bring health benefits.
- Current investment shortfall in climate resilience is most pronounced in the developing world:
- According to the Global Center for Adaptation, spending there is 5- to 10-times less than what is needed.
Policies — priorities and recommendations
- Increased resources are important, but policies matter even more.
- Policy focus should include:
- Arresting and reversing the growth of carbon emissions.
- Eliminating harmful subsidies.
- Providing forward guidance on carbon price.
- Securing a just transition that compensates affected people and parts of the economy.
- Anchoring transition policies in building resilience to climate shocks.
The IMF's planned actions
- The IMF regards climate change as a fundamental risk to macroeconomic and financial stability and is scaling up efforts:
- increasing coverage of climate actions in annual country economic assessments – the Article IV consultations;
- incorporating climate risks in financial sector assessments;
- scaling up capacity development to support member countries with climate-related skills;
- launching a new data initiative to help countries track climate change risks and policies.
Closing emphasis
- Climate action is characterized as "win-win-win-win: good for health, growth, jobs, and the planet."
- Call to collective effort: "Working together, we can do it."
Source: Inaugural GCA Ministerial Dialogue on Adaptation Action: Opening Remarks by Kristalina Georgieva (January 25, 2021).