U.S., WASHINGTON, April 17. Tackling climate change will require a comprehensive combination of policies at national and regional levels, said Vitor Gaspar, Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF, during a briefing on the Fiscal Monitor held as part of the IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, Trend reports.
"International cooperation is essential and existential in tackling climate change. 2023 witnessed a continued increase in CO2 emissions. It was also the hottest year on record, with temperatures exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Tackling climate change will require a comprehensive combination of policies at national and regional levels. Crucially, emissions are a global externality and decisive global action is long overdue. Leadership by major players including China, India, United States, the African Union and European Union would be a game changer," he said.
Gaspar went on to add that the time is right for countries to stay the course of fiscal normalization, build buffers to cope with future shocks and to bring down debt to more sustainable level.
"With the inflation approaching targets, policies are no longer dominated by response to common shocks and divergences across countries are taking central stage. That means that policies in general, fiscal policy in particular, have to be adapted to country specific circumstances. Focusing on fiscal policy in this environment is appropriate because fiscal policy has an ample toolbox that is crucial for this adaptation to country specific circumstances. I would like to emphasize the importance of long-term priorities like competitiveness, growth, productivity. Finally, countries must embrace international cooperation to address the multiple and pressing global challenges," he added.
The Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group kicked off on April 15.
The main ministerial meetings and events will take place April 17-19 with other events and activities taking place during the week, April 15-20.
At the heart of the gathering are meetings of the joint Development Committee and the IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee, which discuss progress on the work of the World Bank Group and the IMF.
The Spring Meetings bring together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, parliamentarians, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organizations and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness.