A lifeline lost for debt distressed nations: A Paris summit last week meant to address global finance sealed some notable victories, but came to a close without securing much-needed relief for poorer debt-distressed countries ahead of climate talks at COP28 later this year. The Summit for a New Global Financing Pact saw 40 world leaders convene in Paris to discuss achieving a more balanced financial partnership between the global North and South amid the climate crisis and developmental challenges.

The gains: A long-delayed target of USD 100 bn in climate finance annually for vulnerable nations is on track to be achieved, Reuters reported, citing the summit’s final statement. These funds would come from rechanneled IMF special drawing rights (SDRs), IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement. The SDR funds are separate from the USD 100 bn in climate finance promised to help poorer nations address the climate crisis and a landmark loss and damage fund agreed at COP27 in Egypt last year for disaster-hit nations.

Some firsts: The summit’s final statement acknowledged for the first time the potential need for wealthy nations to provide fresh funds to multilateral development institutions like the World Bank, as well as to make use of more of the current assets, some USD 200 bn, over the next decade. “We … expect an overall increase of [USD] 200 bn of MDBs’ lending capacity over the next ten years by optimizing their balance sheets and taking more risks,” the statement obtained by Reuters said.

AND- Countries hit by climate disasters can now pause repayments on their loans to the World Bank, according to a bank statement. The new measure came as a result of a campaign led by Barbados Prime Minister and climate champion Mia Mottley. The multilateral lender will also allow countries to “quickly redirect” a portion of their funds to emergency response in the event of a crisis, and will work with the private sector to offer new insurance products for development projects. The Washington-based lender will introduce new crisis debt clauses for new loans to the most vulnerable nations.

African countries are also getting some climate financing: A long-delayed debt agreement was also reached for Zambia, according to a separate World Bank statement. Senegal’s renewable energy capacity will also be getting a boost through a EUR 2.5 bn in new and additional financing under the Senegal Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) over three to five years, according to a statement by the European Commission.

And some taxation in sight? A reference was made to determining “new avenues for international taxation,” referring to a global levy for the shipping industry’s carbon emissions and other Bridgetown Initiative requests. “That was widely discussed here and (there’s) lots of support behind an initiative that’s happening outside of Paris, at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in a couple weeks’ time, on a levy on shipping emissions,” Barbados’ special envoy on climate finance Avinash Persaud told Reuters. French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the necessity for a global levy on shipping and aviation to help fund climate action, according to The Guardian. The IMO is set to meet next week for talks on the levy.

There are still bones to pick: Some argued that the Paris summit has failed to deliver for most debt-distressed nations amid rising interest rates and a strong USD, according to The Guardian. “It’s a disappointment. The summit did not go far enough to deliver for the people who bear the brunt of climate impacts,” said Walter Mawere, an advocacy coordinator for Care International in Somalia. The fact that the new funding pledges were actually made in the form of loans or temporary debt relief instead of grants was also criticized. “Unfortunately, the Paris Summit has not provided the breakthrough needed to find the funding for our planet’s survival,” Teresa Anderson, Global Lead on Climate Justice for ActionAid International, said in statements to Reuters.

ALSO FROM THE SUMMIT- COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber stressed in a speech at the closing ceremony of the summit the necessity of scaling up concessional funding to help make climate finance more accessible and affordable. He also called for the integration of sustainable investing principles into mainstream finance to help give momentum towards a new climate-ready financial system. Al Jaber also held meetings with Macron, Mottley, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss climate finance reforms, according to Wam.

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