The G-20’s Development and Climate Goals: Innovations in Shipping

In 2009, President Barack Obama and leaders of other developed countries committed to mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries confront climate change. However, in an era of fiscal austerity, it is clear that national contributions will need to be supplemented by innovative sources of finance to meet this goal. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund recently released a report on how the shipping industry could be one of these innovative sources of financing. The Mexican government is also expected to engage other governments on innovative, long-term sources of climate finance at the upcoming G-20 summit in June, offering a real opportunity for achieving this goal.

On May 24, Global Economy and Development at Brookings, Oxfam America, World Wildlife Fund and ActionAid will host a discussion on how mechanisms in the shipping industry can be designed to mobilize new public resources to help developing countries confront the climate crisis while reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Panelists will include Ambassador Charles Rudolph Paul, Embassy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to the United States of America; Michael Keen, deputy director of the Fiscal Affairs Department at the International Monetary Fund; Nigel Purvis, president and CEO of Climate Advisers; and Heather Coleman, senior policy advisor at Oxfam America. Brookings Senior Fellow Katherine Sierrawill moderate the discussion.

After the program, the panelists will take audience questions.