IMF chief urges actions for sustainable development

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Tuesday urged the international community to pursue sustainable development as the world faces challenges of unstable growth, deteriorating environment and persistent inequality.

"We need 21st century policies for a 21st century global economy, which means thinking more creatively, more cohesively, and more collaboratively than in the past,"said Lagarde at the United Nations General Assembly.

While addressing the audience of a high-level forum on sustainable development, Lagarde said the world faces triple challenges from economic instability, environmental damage, and insufficient equity. "We cannot view these in isolation. Each feeds on and magnifies the other."

Five years after the collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers which triggered a devastating financial crisis, the world is still on the path of slow growth, said Lagarde.

"Finishing the job means taking action across the spectrum of policies: using monetary and fiscal policies to navigate recovery, reforming the financial sector, and breaking down barriers to further growth and job creation -- especially for young people," she added.

Lagarde said addressing the threat of environmental degradation is also urgently needed, stressing taking action on curbing energy subsidies alone would help fix government budget and promote economy.

She highlighted the importance of a more balanced distribution of income, which she argued, would lead to more sustained growth and greater economic stability. She also expressed support for the goal of ending extreme poverty worldwide by 2030.