The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday announced that its Executive Board has approved a total of US$1.7 billion for Jamaica, the majority of which will provide insurance against risks from higher commodity prices, a global slowdown, tighter-than-envisaged global financial conditions, and new COVID outbreaks.
A statement from the Washington-based financial institution said about US$968 million had been approved for a 24-month programme under the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) arrangement.
The other US$764 million has been approved under the newly created Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) to strengthen physical and fiscal resilience to climate change, advance decarbonisation of the economy, and manage transition risks.
The RSF is expected to catalyse funding for climate-related investment from other official lenders and the private sector, the IMF said.
“Reforms in the RSF, built on Jamaica’s home-grown climate policy, were prepared in close collaboration with the World Bank and other international partners. They create incentives to switch to renewables, reduce energy consumption, develop green financial instruments, and require proper management of climate risks in the financial sector,” IMF Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair of the Board Bo Li said.
Source-CMC
