If you’re battling to save the climate, then the world’s top economic body, the IMF, issuing the clumsily titled “Special Drawing Rights” or SDRs might seem an esoteric distraction. Or maybe the sudden appearance of $650 billion on the world stage might seem like an early birthday present to be ripped open and spent gleefully on addressing the climate challenge.
The truth is somewhere in between. Unless the climate community engages with what this moment means, climate is at risk of being side-lined in what may be 2021’s central moment in shaping the next few years of the global economy.
This paper is the climate community’s guide to engaging with, and using, the “Special Drawing Rights” (SDRs) moment effectively.