Over 100 individuals, including several celebrities, have penned an open letter to the G20 urging for changes in the global financial system.
Among the notable signatories are Stephen Fry, Richard Curtis, Annie Lennox, and Forest Whitaker, who are advocating for reforms addressing both debt and climate issues worldwide.
The letter was dispatched prior to this week’s Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group.
In their open letter, the leading actors, politicians, artists and economists wrote: “80 years on, we need another Bretton Woods moment,” referring to the establishment of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
The “institutions of world finance have lost their muscle”, they added as they called for an upgraded coordination of the world’s finances.
The celebrities have appealed to international financial institutions and policymakers to revamp the global financial system to address the debt and climate challenges and to attain the Sustainable Development Goals.
Coordinated by Project Everyone, the letter advocates for affluent nations to triple their contributions to multilateral development banks, alleviate debilitating debt burdens, and hold polluters accountable for the environmental harm they inflict in order to realize the Sustainable Development Goals.
Sustainable Development Goals “under threat”
The UN estimates that the total amount needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals is $5.4 trillion (€5.07 trillion) a year by 2030. Based on current policies, there is a $3 trillion (€2.81 trillion) shortfall.
Meanwhile, almost 60% of low-income countries face difficulty paying their debts.
“Removing burdensome debt allows countries to invest in their people and their future: in resilience, education, health and nutrition,” says the letter, adding that “each of us stands to gain from stability, lower food and energy costs, and nature protection”.
Dr Joyce Banda, former President of the Republic of Malawi, said: “As African leaders, we need to invest in resilience, education, health and nutrition but we’re being held back by unfair debt. … This has to stop. „It’s time to transform global public finance to pave the way for a fairer, more stable future for all”, Former President of the Republic of Malawi said.
David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee said: “To end extreme poverty and unlock sustainable development, G20 leaders should back financial architecture reform, deliver more concessional finance via the World Bank’s International Development Association, and work with civil society to ensure the money gets to where it’s needed most.”
The letter – also signed by leading NGOs Save The Children, The ONE Campaign, Oxfam, Project Everyone and Christian Aid – ends by urging the leaders to: “Triple the investment. End crippling debt. Make polluters pay.”
