Navigating Uncertainty: Debt Relief and Reform at the 2025 WBG/IMF Spring Meetings

Newsletter
Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Recovery

Dear Reader,

The 2025 IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings took place against a backdrop of deepening financial instability, with emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) facing mounting debt, shrinking fiscal space, and rising trade tensions. Despite urgent calls for comprehensive debt relief, IMF policy advice continues to emphasize fiscal tightening – overlooking the reality that many countries cannot stabilize their finances without meaningful debt restructuring and more affordable borrowing costs.

Throughout the week, discussions underscored the pressing need for reforming the international debt system. Experts pointed to several critical priorities: improving debt transparency, strengthening debt sustainability analysis, and fixing slow and ineffective restructuring processes. Current mechanisms like the G20’s Common Framework remain inadequate, excluding middle-income countries and failing to effectively engage private creditors.

On the sidelines of the Spring Meetings, the DRGR Project hosted a high-level side event featuring World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gill, HE Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Penelope Hawkins, and other leading experts. Speakers voiced deep concerns about the future for debt-strapped countries and engaged in lively discussions on ongoing reform efforts and practical solutions. Watch the full discussion here.

One major gap at this year's Meetings was the failure to meaningfully link debt and fiscal challenges with the escalating risks of climate change. In a world where climate impacts are increasingly recognized as macro-critical, integrating climate risks into debt sustainability assessments is not optional – it is essential.

Read our full assessment of the outcomes of the 2025 IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings here.

Thank you for your continued support,

Your Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Recovery Team

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Event Recording

Kicking the Can Down the Road or Meeting the Challenge? Tackling Sovereign Debt Problems Amid Global Shocks

This panel, organized by the Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Recovery (DRGR) Project on April 23, examined how to break the debt cycle and implement sustainable, long-term solutions. Experts assessed the sovereign debt crisis amid global shocks, reviewed current relief efforts, and proposed decisive measures to enable investment in green growth and development.

TO THE RECORDING

Further information on our website

Contact: Sarah Ribbert, ribbert@boell.de

This newsletter is sent to you by Heinrich Böll Foundation on behalf of
the DRGR Project, in cooperation with the Centre for Sustainable Finance
at SOAS, University of London.

boell.de

Photos: Header: Omer Dvori, cc-by-sa 4.0; Recording: Jay Nlper / Unsplash, Public Domain.

Sender: Heinrich Böll Foundation, The Green Political Foundation, info@boell.de

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