ORIENTATING FINANCE FOR OUR COMMON FUTURE

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) advocates for increased finance from international financial institutions, multilateral development banks, and the G20 to support a green, inclusive, and just transition. The IEJ emphasizes the need for nationally-owned development strategies where the state leads investment, leveraging central banks and development finance institutions to encourage private capital. In South Africa, the IEJ has specifically critiqued the lack of transparency in IFI loan agreements, calling for parliamentary oversight to protect national sovereignty and human rights. Regarding climate finance, the IEJ argues that South Africa's Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P) should utilize risk-sharing arrangements in public-private partnerships that do not prioritize private profits over public goods. Additionally, the IEJ advocates for a human-rights-based approach to debt restructuring in the Global South, proposing that loans be provided on concessional terms with below-market-rate interest and long grace periods.

• The IEJ argues that developing countries should implement nationally-determined and owned development strategies, where the state takes a leading role by utilizing lending from central banks and development finance institutions to strategic sectors to encourage private sector investment.
• An investigation by the IEJ into International Financial Institutions’ (IFI) Covid-19 lending in South Africa found that the borrowing process lacks transparency and accountability, which may jeopardize national sovereignty and human rights. This led to a parliamentary recommendation to establish a law within three years for the scrutiny and approval of all sovereign loan agreements.
• Regarding South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P), the IEJ contends that public-private partnerships (PPPs) must include fair risk-sharing between the state and private financiers and must not allow private profit accrual to compromise public goods for disadvantaged populations.
• To address debt distress in the Global South, the IEJ advocates for a human-rights-based approach to debt restructuring and the provision of loans on concessional terms, including long grace periods and below-market-rate interest rates with significant local currency shares.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2025). ORIENTATING FINANCE FOR OUR COMMON FUTURE. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Orientating-Finance-for-Our-Common-Future-February-2025-1.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. ORIENTATING FINANCE FOR OUR COMMON FUTURE. 2025. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Orientating-Finance-for-Our-Common-Future-February-2025-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=ORIENTATING FINANCE FOR OUR COMMON FUTURE |date=February 2025 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Orientating-Finance-for-Our-Common-Future-February-2025-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2025orientating, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{ORIENTATING FINANCE FOR OUR COMMON FUTURE}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2025}, month = feb, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Orientating-Finance-for-Our-Common-Future-February-2025-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }