Barbados PM urges 'absolute transformation' of finance system

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley told global leaders that the international financial order needs "absolute transformation" at a summit on Thursday aimed at overhauling the lending system for an era of climate change.

Mottley, who has become a powerful advocate for reimagining the role of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, said she had travelled to Paris "with a heavy heart but with hope" for the meeting hosted by France.

The Summit for a New Global Financial Pact is aimed at finding the financial solutions to the interlinked global goals of tackling poverty, curbing planet-heating emissions and protecting nature.

Mottley said the summit marked an "inflection moment".

"What is required of us now is absolute transformation and not reform of our institutions," said Mottley, whose country has put forward a detailed plan for how to fix the global financial system to help developing countries invest in clean energy and boost resilience to climate impacts.

Ideas include adding a clause into debt to allow countries to pause repayments after a shock.

Underscoring the challenge small island nations face, Mottley said her region was currently under tropical storm watch and she had been forced to take a difficult decision over whether or not to stay.

"We come to Paris to identify the common humanity that we share and the absolute moral imperative to save our planet and to make it livable," she said.

 

AFP