The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the associated economic crisis are contributing to what the IMF has warned may become an emerging market debt crisis. While many industrialised countries have been able to mobilise sizeable stimulus packages, many emerging markets and developing countries will struggle to follow suit. Debt levels in many developing countries have outpaced economic growth, and the ongoing pandemic is pushing tens of millions back into extreme poverty undoing years of progress. Despite discussions about promoting “green recoveries” and to helping to “build back better”, climate action is often a victim of a constrained economic environment. The situation has led to growing calls to tie debt relief to climate through “debt-for climate” swaps (multilateral, bilateral, or with private investors) or a climate-informed reallocation of Special Drawing Rights at the IMF. […]