Sovereign Debt and Climate Finance Conference Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) & IDEAs | May 3- 5, 2024 | Gordon Hall, UMass Amherst

This three-day conference explored why the ongoing debt emergency remains unresolved, how it worsen the climate crisis and alternative strategies for climate finance.

Different sessions considered the channels through which debt stress and inadequate climate spending stoke each other, and discuss ways of addressing these pressure points urgently; assess ongoing debt stress resolution efforts and propose alternative templates for viable restructuring of debt and pathways to sustainable development; and discuss the inadequacies of the prevailing climate finance architecture and propose alternative structures that are fit for purpose.

FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2024 (Click on Speakers to watch the Videos)

8:45 – 9:00 AM WELCOME

C. P. Chandrasekhar & Jayati Ghosh, UMass Amherst

Introduction by Patrick Mason, UMass Amherst (Moderator)

9:00 – 10:30 AM SESSION 1: FINANCE & THE WORLD ECONOMY, 1

Dani Rodrik, Harvard University
Jan Kregel, Journal of Post Keynesian Economics
Gerald Epstein, UMass Amherst

Question & Answers Session (Moderator Patrick Mason)

10:30 – 10:45 AM Coffee Break

10:45 – 12:15 PM SESSION 2: FINANCE & THE WORLD ECONOMY, 2

Introduction by Michael Ash, UMass Amherst (Moderator)

Shari Spiegel, United Nations
Richard Kozul-Wright, UNCTAD
C. P. Chandrasekhar, UMass Amherst

Question & Answers Session (Moderator Michael Ash)

12:15 – 1:15 PM Lunch

1:15 – 2:45 PM SESSION 3: PERSPECTIVES ON LDC DEBT STRESS & RESTRUCTURING

Introduction by Lenore Palladino, UMass Amherst (Moderator)

Kevin Gallagher, Boston University and Tufts University & Marina Marques, Boston University
Daniel Munevar, UNCTAD
Avinash Persaud, IADB

Question & Answers Session (Moderator Lenore Palladino)

2:45 – 3:15 PM Coffee Break

3:15 – 5:15 PM SESSION 4: THE STRUCTURAL UNDERPINNINGS OF BALANCE OF PAYMENTS STRESS

Introduction by James Boyce, UMass Amherst (Moderator)

Jayati Ghosh, UMass Amherst
Mark Weisbrot, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Ishac Dewan, Paris School of Economics
Leonce Ndikumana, UMass Amherst

Question & Answers Session (Moderator James Boyce)

5:15 – 6:30 PM Reception

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SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2024. (Click on Speakers to watch the Videos

9:00 – 10:30 AM SESSION 1: THE ORTHODOX RESTRUCTURING TEMPLATE

Introduction by Nancy Folbre, UMass Amherst (Moderator)

Hasan Comert, Trinity College
Isabel Ortiz, Global Social Justice
Emma Burgisser, Christian Aid, UK

Question & Answers Session (Moderator: Nancy Folbre)

10:30 – 10:45 AM Coffee Break

10:45 – 12:15 PM SESION 2: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF DEBT CRISIS RESOLUTION

Introduction by Mwangi wa Githinji, UMass Amherst (Moderator)

Ndongo Samba Sylla & Charles Abugre, IDEAs
Ahilan Kadirgamar, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Lara Merling, Bucharest University of Economic Studies

Question & Answers Session (Moderator: Mwangi wa Githinji)

12:15 – 1:15 PM Lunch

1:15 – 2:45 PM SESSION 3: RESTRUCTURING STRATEGIES IN LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN

Introduction by Kevin Young, UMass Amherst (Moderator)

Karina Patricio Ferreira Lima, University of Leeds, UK
Matias Vernengo, Bucknell University
Esteban Perez, ECLAC, Santiago, Chile

Question & Answers Session (Moderator: Kevin Young)

2:45 – 3:15 PM Coffee Break

3:15 – 5:15 PM SESSION 4: WINNERS & LOSERS IN A DEBT STRESSED WORLD

Introduction by James Heintz, UMass Amherst (Moderator)

Andres Arauz, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Margarita Olivera, Universidad Federal de Rio de Janeiro
Dzodzi Tsikata, SOAS, University of London, UK
Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Khazanah Research Institute, Malaysia

Question & Answers Session (Moderator: James Heintz)

5:15 – 6:30 PM Reception

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SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024 (Click on Speakers to watch the Videos)

9:00 – 10:30 AM SESSION 1: A GREEN NEW DEAL

Introduction by Lawrence King, UMass Amherst (Moderator)

Robert Pollin, UMass Amherst
Tim Sahay, Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University and The Polycrisis
Ramaa Vasudevan, Colorado State University

Question & Answers Session (Moderator: Lawrence King)

10:30 – 10:45 AM Coffee Break

10:45 – 12:15 PM SESION 2: FINANCING ALTERNATIVES

Introduction by Lilia Couto, Open Society Foundation (Moderator)

Martin Abeles, CEPAL, Argentina & Pablo Bortz, University of San Martín, Argentina
Adrina Adiba, UMass Amherst
Farwa Sial, SOAS, University of London, UK

Question & Answers Session (Moderator: Lilia Couto)

12:15 – 1:15 PM Lunch

1:15 – 3:00 PM SESSION 3: CLIMATE FINANCE NEEDS & POSSIBILITIES

Introduction by Sumangala Damodaran, IDEAs (Moderator)

Chavon Rogers, UMass Amherst
Fathimath Musthaq, Reed College
Shouvik Chakraborty, UMass Amherst
Bhumika Machhala, Third World Network, NY

Question & Answers Session (Moderator: Sumangala Damodaran)

3:00 – 3:30 PM CLOSING REMARKS

Jayati Ghosh, UMass Amherst

2024 PERI – IDEAs Conference Participants.