The global economy has experienced unprecedented challenges posed by the

To summarize, the pandemic showed the asymmetries that exist in debt markets: countries in the Global North are better able to smooth the impact of adverse shocks, and have mechanisms to reduce the debt burden after such shocks; in the Global South, financing during shocks such as the pandemic is smaller, and the burden of such financing is long-lasting. [...] The trajectory of the debt-to-GDP ratio in the Global South hinges on the interplay of two crucial sets of variables. [...] The urgency of addressing the issues of public debt and sustainable development is evident in the discussions mentioned in this policy brief. [...] We produced 20 documents with the aim of improving the understanding of national contexts of debt and the connections between debt burden and fiscal space, listing the instruments for sustainable debt management and the promotion of a green transition, and 8 detecting opportunities to promote and advance gender equality as well as climate resilience and low-carbon transitions, among others. [...] These proposals are at the center of the connections between the three priorities for the G20 under the Brazilian presidency, as they can function as avenues to circumvent the painful trade-offs mentioned above, i.e., between debt sustainability, on the one hand, and social and environmental sustainability.