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In April 2022, the IMF board approved the establishment of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) to provide financial support to countries addressing two key long-term structural challenges, climate change and pandemic preparedness. Almost a year late, the board has approved RST-supported programs for five countries: Bangladesh, Barbados, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Rwanda, with disbursements starting this month for Costa Rica.

A debate at the second Local Government Environment Indaba in Kempton Park last week looked at reasons for the failure of municipalities to implement climate mitigation strategies — despite a number of policies on climate adaptation being in place for more than a decade.

The World Bank’s Evolution Roadmap suggests the institution could provide more grants and subsidies to activities that support the provision of global public goods (GPGs), particularly in richer developing countries. Provision of those public goods is surely a priority: avoiding future pandemics and limiting climate change benefits everyone. At the same time, and especially in an environment where finance for international subsidies and grants is extremely limited, it is important that the mechanisms are efficient.

The World Bank is in the most visible position as it works on its evolution roadmap. But change is needed across the MDB system to enable these institutions to play a more effective and a much bigger role in helping the world meet these challenges. Together they hold about $500 billion in shareholder equity, which can be leveraged many times over in lending.