NAIROBI, Kenya - The head of the International Monetary Fund on Monday proposed a plan for the world's governments to pool together to raise money needed to adapt to climate change, a rare step for an organization that normally does not develop environmental policies.
IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the fund is concerned about the huge amount of funding needed and the effect that will have on the global economy. He added that the proposal may help efforts to reach a binding agreement on climate change later this year.
Strauss-Kahn proposed that countries adopt a quota system similar to the one the IMF uses to raise its own money, which could bring in money faster than proposals to increase carbon taxes or other fundraising methods. He provided only a broad outline of the plan, as the organization will release a paper within 10 days with full details. It is unclear how the proposal will be received.
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The IMF raises funds from its 185 members mainly through a quota system that is based broadly on each country's economic size. The United States is currently the largest shareholder.
He said a climate-change accord reached in December estimated $100 billion a year will be needed by 2020 to fund programs, including those to help poor nations deal with droughts, flooding and food shortages expected to be caused by climate change.
A Kenyan anti-poverty campaigner said the IMF should not get involved in climate change because in Africa it has promoted policies that increased the exploitation of fossil fuels, which have contributed to greenhouse-gas emissions blamed for climate change.
"IMF is responsible for the consumption patterns that has generated the current climate crisis that we face. And they have neither the expertise nor the moral authority to discuss the issue of climate change," said Vitalice Meja, the coordinator of Reality of Aid Africa, an anti-poverty advocacy group.
