Africa’s increasing finance gap keeps World Bank, IMF, G20 awake

This year’s International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank meetings reinforced the need for strengthened, Africa-focused financial reforms as climate impacts accelerate.

With African nations on the frontlines of climate crises, expectations are high for concrete outcomes at COP29 and future G20 summits to drive essential climate finance that will support the continent’s resilience and sustainable growth.

High-level discussions at the 2024 IMF-World Bank annual meetings circled global debt levels, escalating climate crises, and widening finance gaps—challenges disproportionately impacting African nations.

Despite these critical issues, concrete solutions remained limited, with progress on key topics advancing only incrementally.

On the sidelines, G20 finance ministers convened to release a communiqué that highlighted the urgency of reforming Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and improving global debt structures, with a particular call for increased support to countries most affected by climate and economic instability, many of which are in Africa.

African leaders emphasised that addressing the climate crisis cannot afford to wait. The outcomes of the meetings will impact the upcoming COP29 climate finance goal, which is crucial for African nations facing intensified climate pressures.

The finance ministers approved a roadmap for MDB reform aimed at strengthening these institutions to better address global crises, particularly for developing nations.

This World Bank announced measures to unlock $150 billion for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) over the next decade by adopting innovative tools like Hybrid Capital, Portfolio Guarantees, and adjustments to the equity-to-loan ratio.

In an encouraging show of IDA support, Spain pledged €400 million to the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA21)—a 37percent increase from its previous contribution—while Latvia made a record early pledge of €9.48 million, marking a 60percent increase.

These contributions are expected to set a strong precedent for further commitments as IDA21 aims to raise a historic $105 billion to address poverty, inequality, and climate-related issues in low-income countries, including many African nations.

The G20’s Task Force on Climate and Financial Policy (TF-CLIMA) released its report, “A Green and Just Planet: The 1.5°C Agenda for Governing Global Industrial and Financial Policies.” This framework calls for a coordinated global effort to limit warming to 1.5°C and emphasizes that high-income countries must lead financing to support lower-income nations’ transitions, a critical aspect for Africa’s adaptation and resilience needs.

Read also: IMF/World Bank Meetings: Nigeria’s productivity hinges on improved electricity supply – W’Bank

While the TF-CLIMA report lays out key priorities, African leaders and advocates pointed out diluted ambitions among G20 leaders, especially regarding financial commitments essential to climate action on the continent. This critique underscores the need for stronger, more specific commitments to support African nations in the transition to a climate-resilient future.

An interim report, commissioned by the governments of Colombia, Kenya, France, and Germany, identified a worsening cycle of climate shocks leading to high borrowing for recovery efforts, a challenge acutely felt by African countries.

This report calls for a fundamental overhaul of the World Bank and IMF’s Debt Sustainability Frameworks, designed to better account for the growing intersection of debt, climate, and environmental crises. Comprehensive recommendations are expected at the 2025 IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings.

In a milestone decision, the IMF will introduce a third chair for Sub-Saharan Africa starting November 1, 2024, enhancing the region’s voice within the institution and marking progress toward governance reforms long sought by developing nations.

Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and V20 Presidency, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados spoke to the urgency of action: “The difficulty relates to scale and speed. In the absence of definitive decisions that can give us more space and time to invest in climate and development, this is very worrying.

“The world is distracted by war, elections, and geopolitics. That is our current reality. If I could recommend to this body a single action that would buy us more space, it would be settling a global methane agreement.”

“The G20 has reiterated the language around the global need to shift away from fossil fuel production and use that was first agreed at Dubai. We now have certainty on the direction of travel to clean energy and economies from across governments, reaffirmed by Heads of State at the UN Summit for the Future and now Finance Ministers at the G20.

“With this week’s warning from the UN that we’re on course for a 3C warming world, there is no time to lose in putting thought-through, investable country climate plans in place, and working towards a new robust international climate finance goal at COP29 that will lay the foundations for accelerated private investment to bridge the funding gap for rapid fossil to clean transformation,” said Gillian Nelson, Director of Policy at the We Mean Business Coalition.

“Without a comprehensive debt relief and restructuring, meeting climate finance obligations will remain a pipe dream. As more countries allocate towards debt service interest repayments, fiscal space for climate-related actions reduces. The only way to secure climate finance is for COP commitments to be honoured and for additional finance to be 100percent grant-based,” Jason R Braganza, Executive Director of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD).