Addressing the challenges of 21st century sovereign debt crises.
The mission of the Debt Relief for Green and Inclusive Recovery (DRGR) Project is to utilize rigorous, policy-oriented research to advance innovative solutions to address the challenges of 21st century sovereign debt crises.
Taking a holistic approach, the DRGR Project engages with policymakers, thought leaders and civil society to further ambitious, evidence-based policy dialogue for sustainable development around the world. The DRGR Project has been designed since its inception with input from stakeholders in the Global South, and to advance its policy recommendations through a development-centered lens.
The Boston University Global Development Policy Center, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, and the Centre for Sustainable Finance at SOAS, University of London founded the DRGR Project in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and the Centre for Sustainable Finance at SOAS, University of London remain active contributors. The DRGR Project focuses on the linkages between sovereign debt distress and climate change, advancing pioneering proposals to unlock finance for sustainable development and to achieve shared climate and development goals.
Latest research
Debt, Climate, and Development in Asia and the Pacific: Breaking the Vicious Circle
July 2025
A new Asian Development Bank Institute working paper by Ulrich Volz, Shamshad Akhtar, and Alex Dryden examines how the debt vulnerabilities in the Asia and Pacific region are worsening—driven by climate disasters and structural development gaps. It highlights how unsustainable debt burdens threaten sovereign fiscal stability and undermine the ability of developing economies to meet their climate goals. The authors call for concerted efforts to proactively tackle sovereign debt problems—efforts that, in some cases, will require significant debt relief as a pathway to sustainable growth.
Giving Voice to The Silent Debt Crisis: How Debt Relief Can Unlock Green Growth Pathways for Africa
October 2024
Africa is amongst the most vulnerable regions in the world to the impacts of climate change, while also grappling with a severe sovereign debt crisis. The policy brief “Giving Voice to The Silent Debt Crisis: How Debt Relief Can Unlock Green Growth Pathways for Africa” by Bogolo Kenewendo, Patrick Njoroge and Alexander Dryden analyzes Africa’s debt dynamics and outlines a proposal to unlock the continent’s potential for green growth and support climate resilience.
Defaulting on Development and Climate – Debt Sustainability and the Race for the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement
April 2024
Time is running out to achieve the goals set out in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement. Not meeting these goals will have tragic impacts on the lives of present and future generations; yet, emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) are facing conditions that inhibit their ability to mobilize investment, including historic levels of external debt, higher interest rates and low growth prospects to 2030. The report “Defaulting on Development and Climate – Debt Sustainability and the Race for the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement” performs an enhanced global external debt sustainability analysis (DSA) to estimate the extent to which EMDEs can mobilize the recommended levels of external financing without jeopardizing debt sustainability.
Latest Commentary
- Financing for Development: Building Momentum for Sovereign Debt Reform
There is growing momentum for a reform of the international sovereign debt architecture. In recent weeks, a series of high-level meetings and reports—from the Financing for Development Conference in Seville to the launch of the Vatican-backed Jubilee Report—have advanced the debate and echoed proposals long advocated by the Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive… - Navigating Uncertainty: Debt Relief and Reform at the 2025 IMF–World Bank Spring Meetings
At this year’s IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings, calls for meaningful debt relief echoed loudly—but the official response remained stuck on fiscal tightening. As emerging market and developing economies face shrinking fiscal space and growing debt burdens, the gap between policy advice and economic reality is widening, with one crucial issue largely absent: the growing threat… - The Tide is Turning: Prominent Voices Call for Debt Relief
A growing number of influential voices, such as Indermit Gill, Chief Economist at the World Bank, and Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa in announcing the priorities of their G20 presidency, are signaling a significant shift in the global discourse on debt. The focus is moving away from short-term liquidity fixes towards a growing recognition…
