More countries in the Global South are heading towards a new debt crisis due to low global interest rates and low commodity prices. Thus far, there have been no innovative approaches for a possible debt workout with regard to a new crisis. Regarding the next crisis, there is something to learn from the HIPC/MDRI initiatives of the 1990s and 2000s: overcoming political deadlocks by designing debt relief exclusively for a limited group of countries. Such a limited debt relief scheme could then imply procedural innovation that could remedy weaknesses of the HIPC/MDRI schemes and debt restructuring mechanisms at large, by making them more comprehensive and impartial. Model cost calculations are provided for Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and countries affected by climate change.