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BEIJING, Oct. 11 (Xinhuanet) --Finance ministers and central bank governors from more than 180 countries and regions have come together in the Peruvian capital to discuss the issue of climate change. The World Bank and the IMF are holding their annual meetings there.
The International Monetary Fund says the global economy needs restructuring. Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF, says a good way to help humanity and the environment would be putting the real price tag on fossil fuels by cutting subsidies.
"It is just the right moment to introduce carbon tax, and it is just the right moment as well to eliminate subsidies," Lagarde said.
Lagarde argues the IMF cannot tackle economic instability without also addressing the environmental and human cost of global warming. According to the World Bank, for the first time, extreme poverty could fall below 10 percent this year. But without financial support, the World Bank President warned, millions could slide back into poverty due to climate change.
"Led by countries around the world, as well as funding from the multilateral development banks - including the World Bank Group - we are seeing that there is a politically credible pathway toward the $100 billion dollars promised ahead of Paris. We will significantly scale up our commitments to battling climate change. This is a tough decision for us, but it is the right thing to do," said Jim Yong Kim, World Bank President.
A report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says almost two-thirds of a one hundred billion dollar climate finance pledge for 2020 had been delivered by richer nations.
Public and private sector pledges must exceed 35 billion dollars over the next five years in order to reach the target. The money is destined for the nations hardest hit by climate change to pay for loss and damage and to shore up their defences against extreme weather events.
Rising sea levels are threatening many Pacific islands.
"We need that support. We don't have insurance companies to compensate for all this, and this is why we are raising the issue of loss and damage being very important to small island developing poor states," said Maatia Toafam Finance Minister of Tuvalu.
The message from the world's financial leaders is that a low carbon economy and sustainable growth is the way to go. As belts tighten around the world, some countries may have no choice.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
