The Right Climate Finance for Developing Economies

WASHINGTON, DC – In 2011, the Busan Partnership agreement recommended a shift toward increased national ownership of the development agenda as part of the international drive for more effective development policies. The agreement was a welcome recognition that lower-income countries were more likely to improve resource allocation and achieve sustainable growth when they set their own development priorities.

Unlocking AI-Powered Learning Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images Culture 1

Unlocking AI-Powered Learning

Justina Nixon-Saintil foresees the technology enhancing student learning and creating new pathways to rewarding careers.

Will the IMF Survive to 100? Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images Longer Reads 1

Will the IMF Survive to 100?

Paulo Nogueira Batista, Jr. & Robert H. Wade propose incremental changes to keep developing and emerging economies on board and engaged.

The Brutes’ New Suits Spencer Platt/Getty Images Longer Reads 3

The Brutes’ New Suits

James Livingston asks why so many observers now believe that banks are running a con game.

But more than a decade later, the prevailing top-down, one-size-fits-all approach to development interventions remains stubbornly intact. This is particularly true for climate finance, which tends to be largely earmarked for projects aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, including in countries that have contributed the least to the climate crisis. For example, 58% of the $83.3 billion in climate finance that the Global North delivered to developing countries in 2020 went toward such mitigation initiatives.

In fact, the most pressing challenge facing low-income countries........

© Project Syndicate