‘The LORD has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.’
Micah 6:8
Christian Aid recently tweeted: “The world needs a financial reset. We’re proud to have joined prominent voices in signing the #DearG20 letter, sending a clear message to leaders that change is imperative.”
Dear G20 leaders
80 years ago, in the shadow of World War II, your predecessors met in the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods. There they devised the institutions of world finance: the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The experiment was imperfect. But the founding ideals of the system were explicit: prosperity was a means to peace; wealth would serve the common good. For the first time, in the aftermath of war, people felt a sense of optimism. “It is a wonderful thing,” wrote Keynes, “to taste hope again.”
80 years on, we need another Bretton Woods moment. The world is rocked by conflict, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, and spiralling inflation. All of which are compounded by the devastation wrought by climate change. The Sustainable Development Goals are under threat. Too many feel scarcity, austerity, despair.
This is your chance. The institutions of world finance have lost their muscle. You can be leaders who bring them into the 21st Century. You can unlock the colossal public and private investment potential of renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and climate adaptation. You can invest in a bigger fund for people and planet: the International Development Association (IDA). You can fix the broken repayment systems that weigh on economic development. You can reform the tax regimes that give polluters impunity, and make those with the most resources pay a fair share.
Removing burdensome debt allows countries to invest in their people and their future: in resilience, education, health, and nutrition. This drives growth and creates strong partners to trade with. Each of us stands to gain from stability, lower food and energy costs, and nature protection.
Change is already underway. The architects of the World Bank and the IMF earned their place in history. This is your chance to fulfil their promise: to transform these instruments for peace and prosperity and truly set them to work in our common interest.
Triple the investment. End crippling debt. Make polluters pay.
In this vast and interconnected world, let’s pray for wisdom, compassion, and understanding.
Creator God, grant our Leaders discernment, courage, and humility. Let their decisions be guided by empathy and a vision of shared prosperity.
Wrap the vulnerable and marginalised in your loving embrace. May justice flow like a river, washing away inequality and injustice.
Heal our wounded Earth. May we steward this planet with reverence, knowing that its resources are gifts meant for all generations.
Where there is discord, sow seeds of peace. Let bridges be built across chasms of misunderstanding.
We praise you for the sunrise that paints the sky anew each day and for the resilience of the human spirit. May hope be our compass, guiding us toward a brighter tomorrow. Amen.
Debbie Wilson
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