Unlocking Climate Trillions With a Global Plan From a Sinking Island
Avinash Persaud, the financial envoy from the tiny nation of Barbados, will have 100 world leaders talking about his proposals to rewire capitalism for the climate era
Avinash Persaud in London on June 2.
Photographer: Hollie Adams/BloombergA financial official from an island that’s among the world’s most vulnerable to global warming has a plan to quickly increase the amount spent on climate solutions in developing nations. And his plan requires little additional spending by rich countries.
“If you focus only on grants, only on people transferring money to you, you’re never gonna get the scale we need to save the planet," says Avinash Persaud, a Barbados-born, UK-raised development economist who was previously a banker in the City of London. His target for spending on emissions-reducing projects alone by developing countries is about $1.5 trillion per year — or seven times the sum rich countries currently give in overseas development aid for all causes, including health and poverty reduction.