## Managing Director’s Remarks at the World Bank/IMF/Financial Times Pavilion: A Fireside Chat with President Banga, Moderated by Pilita Clark

_IMF News, December 1, 2023_

## Source details

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: December 1, 2023

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### Context and opening points
- This is the first COP when the IMF and the World Bank have shared a pavilion; the shared pavilion is presented as a signal that multilateral cooperation must produce outcomes "bigger than we would have achieved on our own."
- Date: December 1, 2023.

### Scale of climate finance and framing
- The $5 trillion climate finance target is framed against a global economy described as "over $100 trillion economy" that will continue to grow; this framing is used to argue the target is large but not impossible.
- Key question posed: is the $5 trillion meant solely for climate investment or for investments in "climate and development"? If for both, the sum is presented as less daunting.

### Recommended financing approach — use all instruments
- Principle: "use all possible instruments we have at our disposal."

- Carbon pricing
  - The IMF is a "huge proponent of carbon pricing."
  - Carbon pricing is argued to:
    - Raise revenues in an equitable way ("the more you consume, the more you pollute, the more you pay").
    - Provide incentives to accelerate decarbonization, reducing required financing because consumption and production adapt.

- Public-private partnerships and blended finance
  - Private-public partnerships are described as "finally at the cusp" of delivering necessary impact.
  - Blended finance is characterized as "no longer just a term: it is a reality," with various instruments being deployed.

- Domestic tax collection and fiscal discipline
  - A third financing source is improved domestic tax collection.
  - Claim: in many developing countries tax collection is "below the 15 percent tax to GDP ratio which we think is the minimum needed to function."
  - Even at tax-to-GDP ratios of 20, 21, 22, or 23 percent, IMF analysis indicates "there is space to improve tax collection."
  - Digitization is cited as a tool that "makes it harder to hide money" and supports a call to "collect that tax!" and "take a more aggressive approach towards tax avoidance."
  - Overall framing: tax shortfalls are "a problem, but it is a solvable problem" and IMF/World Bank institutions can contribute to solutions.

### IMF instruments and recent developments
- Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST)
  - The RST is described as a "$40 billion Resilience and Sustainability Trust — which is a new trust."
  - Current status: "We already have 11 programs, of which six are in Africa and the total amount committed is around $4.4 billion."
  - Demand for RST support is characterized as "incredible," and "performance is improving."
  - The IMF "rel[y] on the World Bank for the quality of the policy decisions we support."

- Recent pledge
  - "Today the United Arab Emirates announced an additional $200 million in support for the RST."

### Summary policy implications and operational notes
- Multilateral cooperation (IMF + World Bank) is emphasized as essential to scale impact.
- A multi-pronged financing strategy is recommended, combining:
  - Carbon pricing to both raise equitable revenue and reduce financing needs,
  - Scaled blended finance and effective public-private partnerships,
  - Stronger domestic tax collection and anti–tax avoidance measures aided by digitization.
- The IMF positions the RST as an active instrument with growing demand, existing program commitments, and recent additional donor support.

*Source: Managing Director’s Remarks at the World Bank/IMF/Financial Times Pavilion: A Fireside Chat with President Banga, Moderated by Pilita Clark (December 1, 2023).*

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## References

- [https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/kristalina-georgieva](https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/kristalina-georgieva)
- [United Arab Emirates and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/ARE/index.htm)
- [Speeches](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)
- [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)
- [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2023/12/02/sp-md-remarks-at-worldbank-ft-pavilion-fireside-chat-cop28_