Skip to main content
Donate to the 95 years appeal
Bridge(town) over troubled waters
ALAN SIMPSON looks to ‘tomorrow’s economics today,’ as found in a new initiative pioneered by Barbados which allows the poorest access to low-cost finance for climate investment programmes
General views of Cantref Reservoir in Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales, where water levels are low, September 8, 2022

SOMETIMES you have to look for inspiration elsewhere if you want to get out of a mess. Right now, Barbados would not be a bad place to start. 

Its Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, has successfully persuaded global leaders that it’s time to overhaul the archaic rules governing access to global finance.

Dubbed the Bridgetown Initiative, it would reverse the regulatory bias under which the poor have to pay more — sometimes three times more — than the rich for access to climate finance. 

The pursuit of poverty

Banking for the poor and the planet

The ayatollahs of avarice

Empty plates and empty tables

Tomorrow’s economics today

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Attendees listen to Brazil’s President Lula during Cop30
Features / 18 November 2025
18 November 2025

From summit to summit, imperialist companies and governments cut, delay or water down their commitments, warn the Communist Parties of Britain, France, Portugal and Spain and the Workers Party of Belgium in a joint statement on Cop30

Residents walk through Santa Cruz, Jamaica on Wednesday after Hurricane Melissa passed
Features / 1 November 2025
1 November 2025

Hurricanes might have natural causes but the tragedy that follows is entirely human-made and a consequence of capitalist greed, asserts ROGER McKENZIE

US President Donald Trump stands in the presidential box as
Features / 20 March 2025
20 March 2025
As the ‘NRx movement’ plots to replace democracy with corporate-feudal dictatorship, Britain must pursue a radical alternative of local food security and genuine wealth redistribution to withstand the coming upheaval, writes ALAN SIMPSON
MODERN FEUDALISM:
New US President Donald
Trump
Features / 30 January 2025
30 January 2025
Some hard political choices must be made in Trump’s post-truth era – starting by abandoning any illusions about the ‘special relationship’ and waking up to the need for bold policy-making on the climate, argues ALAN SIMPSON