Barbados PM Mottley calls for new World Bank emergency liquidity facility

26/9/2024 11:59

        Barbados will call for creation of a new World Bank finance facility to provide emergency liquidity to climate-vulnerable countries in a third version of the Bridgetown Initiative backed by many developing countries, sources briefed on the plans said.
        
        Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley told members of the Council on Foreign Relations some changes were already in progress, but further reforms of international financial institutions were needed to address the growing challenges of high debt levels, climate change and slower growth.
        
        "The success that we need is a change of attitude and a resetting of attitudes across the world," she said. "Changing the rules of the game to allow us to be seen and heard is absolutely critical, particularly given the multiplicity of challenges that we are facing."
        
        The Bridgetown Initiative, first released in 2022 and updated once before in 2023, calls for reforms to make it cheaper for emerging markets and developing countries - about 70 of whom are at risk of debt distress - to borrow money.
        
        Countries are also studying various tax measures - including levies on shipping and airlines and a tax on the super-wealthy - to help raise the huge sums countries need to build more climate-resilient economies without going further into debt.