Bretton Woods Committee (BWC)’s “Strengthening the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) to Meet 21st -Century Global Challenges” Report

Posted 17 Apr 2024

2 min read

This is the first report from BWC’s Multilateral Reform Working Group (MRWG), which has been formed to address how multilateral system can be strengthened.
- BWC, created in 1983, is the non-profit organization dedicated to effective global economic and financial cooperation.

BWIs, setup in 1944 by 43 countries with an aim to help rebuild postwar economy and promote international economic cooperation, are World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Multilateralism led by International Financial Institutions has driven high growth and globalization, benefiting global population. However, report highlights two challenges to this growth:
- Crises in the global commons have dominated and had profoundly negative effect on the world economy, eroding gains in health, education, productivity etc.
- Despite recognition, progress in addressing these challenges has been slow.
  - This is due to fragmentation of global economy and increase in geopolitical tensions.

Recommendations for strengthening BWIs
- Constitute ministerial-level Councils in BWIs to oversee issues pertaining to global commons.
- Design instruments and institutional arrangements to finance the means to face climate challenges.
- Expanding climate-linked financial instruments.
- Establish permanent mechanism to conduct systematic review of progress of global financing and implementation plans.

Global commons are those parts of planet that fall outside national jurisdictions and to which all nations have access.
International law identifies four global commons, namely the High Seas, the Atmosphere, the Antarctica and the Outer Space.

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