Europe Listens … to Avinash Persaud 

Action on climate financing is long overdue. Inadequate mitigation and adaptation have already led to substantial loss and damage in the most vulnerable countries. But the scale of investment required to mitigate global warming is beyond the capacity of rich governments, far less developing countries. To square this circle, Barbados’s prime minister, Mia Mottley, last year made a bold proposal: the Bridgetown Initiative. 

In this episode of Europe Listens, ECFR’s Rafael Loss and Jana Puglierin welcome Avinash Persaud, special envoy on climate finance to Mia Mottley. How can the Bridgetown Initiative prevent nations on the climate frontline getting trapped in endless cycles of disaster and debt? What role can private-sector capital play in combatting climate change? And how can transformative ideas succeed in international climate diplomacy? 

This podcast was recorded on 4 April 2023.   

Further reading: 

Breaking the deadlock on climate: The Bridgetown Initiative by Avinash Persaud 

Speech at the opening of the COP27 World Leaders Summit by Mia Mottley 

The 2022 Bridgetown Initiative 

We’ll always have Paris: How to adapt multilateral climate cooperation to new realities by Anthony Dworkin and Mats Engström