"African Union asks IMF for $650bn in Special Drawing Rights for Climate Crisis"

" African Union asks IMF for $650bn in Special Drawing Rights for Climate Crisis \r\n\r\nThe African Union proposed that the International Monetary Fund consider issuing $650 billion in special drawing rights to combat the climate crisis.\r\n\r\nThe 55-member group also demanded that at least $100 billion in existing SDRs be channeled to Africa through institutions such as the African Development Bank, with a group of donors to be established by the time the COP28 climate summit starts on Nov. 30. Multilateral development banks should be recapitalized to provide at least $500 billion in concessional finance a year, it said.\r\n\r\nThe list of demands in an updated declaration from the continent\u2019s first climate summit are considerably stronger than an initial announcement on Sept. 7 in Nairobi, Kenya, which focused on debt relief and climate finance to fund renewable energy. Government delegations argued late into the night earlier this week on the wording of the statement that will serve as their unified position at COP28 in Dubai.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe call for collective global action to mobilize the necessary capital for both development and climate action,\u201d the African Union said in the statement released on Friday.\r\n\r\nAfrica, the world\u2019s least developed continent, has barely contributed to the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change, but its nations are among the hardest hit by cyclones, drought and floods. That, coupled with a debt burden exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, is hindering economic growth.\r\n\r\nFifteen African heads of state attended this week\u2019s summit in Nairobi, according to information from the organizers. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, were also present.\r\n\r\nOther changes from the earlier declaration include:\r\n \r\n \t Mobilizing $30 billion to invest in water projects by 2030 \r\n \t Drawing attention to the \u201cinordinate borrowing costs\u201d levied on poor nations that are a \u201croot cause of recurring debt crises\u201d \r\n \t A revaluation of the gross domestic product of Africa to reflect its natural capital such as carbon sinks in its forests. \r\n "

"African Union asks IMF for $650bn in Special Drawing Rights for Climate Crisis"

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