The Amsterdam Sustainability Institute organised a live event debrief led by Andrew Wainwright of the Institute for Environmental Studies and Economics PhD student at the University of Bath. The event, attended by an audience of students and VU researchers, began with a lecture by Andrew followed by an engaging Q&A.
“We are all in the same storm, but we’re not all in the same boat”.
The inclusion of ‘loss and damage’ in the recent COP27 negotiations was a significant step in addressing climate injustice.
A team led by Andrew proposes the solution of Climate-Just Debt Swaps to restore climate justice by addressing some of the perverse incentives which are currently preventing action. It aims to address the power imbalances and lack of incentive for a fair share between the Global North and South within the ‘loss and damage’ establishment. Climate-Just Debt Swaps involves the conversion of existing Global South countries’ debt into a form that slowly disappears over time and appears to be in everyone’s best interest, even those countries and organisations asked to contribute the most. The mechanism effectively addresses climate injustice to provide a funding scheme for green infrastructure and to reduce the burden of foreign debt on the developing world.
We would like to thank Andrew Wainwright for sharing his invaluable insights with us and for allowing us to view more closely into COP27, particularly Loss and Damage and its outcomes.
Visit the Climate-Just Debt Swaps website for more information.
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