Beyond the coronavirus pandemic, multilateral cooperation is needed to defuse trade and technology tensions between countries and address gaps – for instance in services trade – in the rules-based multilateral trading system, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.
The Bretton Woods institution said in a report that countries must also act collectively to implement their climate change mitigation commitments. As discussed in “joint action—particularly by the largest emitters—that combines steadily rising carbon prices with a green investment push is needed to reduce emissions consistent with limiting increases in global temperature to the targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement.”
“A broadly adopted, growth-friendly mitigation package could raise global activity through investment in green infrastructure over the near term, with modest output costs over the medium term as economies transition away from fossil fuels toward cleaner technologies.
“Relative to unchanged policies, such a package would significantly boost incomes in the second half of the century by avoiding damages and catastrophic risks from climate change,” the IMF said.
It added: “Moreover, health outcomes would begin to improve immediately in many countries thanks to reduced local air pollution.
“The global community should also take urgent steps to strengthen its defenses against calamitous health crises, for example by augmenting stockpiles of protective equipment and essential medical supplies, financing research, and ensuring adequate ongoing assistance to countries with limited health care capacity, including through support of international organizations.”
