Alexander Dryden (SOAS, University of London) will be presenting his work on “Threading the Needle: The Delicate Art of Designing Debt-for-Nature Swaps”.
About this session: Debt-for-nature swaps (D4NS) have re-emerged as a prominent tool in sovereign climate finance, yet their effectiveness remains contested. This paper introduces a new database of 169 D4NS transactions across 45 countries from 1987 to 2025 and proposes a unified framework to evaluate their financial and environmental performance. While early swaps were small but environmentally robust, recent transactions tend to be larger yet deliver limited debt relief and diluted environmental outcomes. The paper concludes with recommendations for a more effective next generation of D4NS, including the creation of a dedicated distressed debt facility.
When: Monday 9th of March
12.30-12.45 Light lunch and networking
12.45-13.45 Talk and Q&A.
Where: CRASSH meeting room (Alison Richards Building) on the Sidgwick site.
Lunch: A light lunch will be provided, but bring along your drink of choice!
Zoom: You can also join us virtually on Zoom.
The weekly climaTRACES workshops, organised by Kamiar Mohaddes and Henning Zschietzschmann, are attended by a diverse group of people from economics, geography, politics, engineering, business, earth sciences, natural sciences, and history, generating interdisciplinary discussion. One person leads the session, on either a paper they have written, a work in progress, or just an idea they have and would like feedback on. This is also an opportunity for people to find our more about the team on what climaTRACES have been up to and what future events and research projects are being developed.