Debt relief to combat climate change
The need for developing countries to address issues of adapting to and mitigating climate change is both urgent and evident, as the impact of climate change grows daily. Yet they have competing immediate development and poverty reduction expenditure demands, and have recently been faced with food, fuel and financial crises. To ensure adequate priority to funding the combat against climate change, they need additional financing from all possible sources. In that context, the objective of this study is to assess the feasibility of an initiative aiming to mobilize additional financing for climate adaptation for countries participating in the Commonwealth-OIF Debt Sustainability Forum meeting, through debt relief and conversion. This requires: analyzing the history of debt relief and its use to fund environmental programmes; identifying the debt potentially eligible for relief; assessing the need for funding to combat climate change, and for relief to keep debts sustainable; and analyzing potential creditor, donor and debtor interest in debt relief for climate change adaptation.