International financing for development has persistently fallen short of developing country needs. That gap has widened dramatically with the onset of the climate crisis, where the costs of climate inaction far outweigh the financing needed in developing countries to catalyze low-carbon, socially inclusive and resilient growth trajectories and adapt to climate-related shocks that are already […]
By Yan Wang and Zheng Zhai Over the past two decades, China has become the largest bilateral provider of development finance. At the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China reaffirmed its commitment to further opening its vast financial market to African nations, encouraging them to issue panda bonds. Alongside this, it pledged $51 billion […]
By Tim Hirschel-Burns In late June, the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) will take place in Seville, Spain. Despite challenging geopolitical circumstances, the conference – which is the first in 10 years and almost certainly the last FfD before the critical 2030 milestone – will still play a key normative role as […]
The African continent faces a multifaceted challenge regarding its energy policy. To bolster economic industrialization and improve livelihoods, leaders seek energy solutions with low carbon emissions while endeavoring to bring electricity to an estimated 600 million people who lack access. Emerging as a pivotal capital provider for global energy finance, China has committed $49 billion […]
By Tianyi Wu African leaders face significant challenges in energy policy as they strive to implement low-carbon energy solutions while expanding electricity access to around 600 million people—43 percent of the total population of Africa. In this context, lending from Chinese policy banks has played a pivotal role in expanding energy capacity and facilitating sustainable […]
By Tim Hirschel-Burns 2025 admittedly presents a dubious landscape for achieving substantive global economic governance reforms. The scale of needs is large—achieving development and climate goals demands trillions more in annual financing and a reorientation of our economic system—while our political context is trending in the wrong direction, with countries cutting international investments and geopolitical […]
The most notable milestone of 2024 was the 80th anniversary of the Bretton Woods institutions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Trade Organization. This anniversary came as calls for ambitious global economic governance reforms gain momentum in key fora, and developing country frustrations with the existing system continue to grow. 2024 […]
While the macroeconomic significance of climate change has been understood in academic scholarship for a long time, policy engagement on this topic is rather new. While initiatives such as the Network for Greening the Financial System and the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Change have emerged, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – the only […]
By Thang Ha On November 14, 2024, the Boston University Global Development Policy (GDP) Center hosted a webinar on the latest data and trends in China’s overseas energy finance, based on the new update to China Global Energy Finance (CGEF) Database. The webinar was moderated by Rebecca Ray, Senior Academic Researcher with the Global China Initiative […]
By Tim Hirschel-Burns and Rishikesh Ram Bhandary A $4 trillion financing gap to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 85 percent of which are off track. A need to rapidly scale up climate action and energy access. Weak global growth. Instability-fueled migration. A reversal in a decades-long trend of reducing global poverty. The […]