National debts have been growing in recent years, and 54 countries are now in crisis. The crushing weight of those debts mean that many countries can’t rebuild when hit by disasters such as floods and hurricanes, have little room to adapt or transition to a greener economy and are being forced to go into more debt to pay for the crisis.
It’s a huge injustice at the heart of the climate emergency.
Read our newest briefing to get up to speed with how debt and climate are related.
There can be no climate justice without debt justice
The situation
Lower income countries are least responsible for emissions causing the climate crisis, and worst affected. It’s the richer polluting countries that should pay for the damage caused and to support the transition, something they have partly acknowledged but have so far failed to do.
Several countries in the Caribbean were devastated by hurricanes during 2017. Some of those countries were already heavily indebted, partly because of loans taken out to help with rebuilding efforts following previous disasters. In the event of environmental disaster, we call on all creditors, including the IMF and World Bank, to suspend debt payments. Debts must be reduced to a sustainable level, and assistance to rebuild must be provided as grants, not loans.
What Needs Doing
- Set up a fund for climate disasters, and when disaster hits, automatically suspend debts.
- Give climate finance as grants, not loans, so that climate vulnerable countries do not have to go into more debt
- Cancel the debts of all countries that need it and make sure it doesn’t build up in the future so they can deal with the climate crisis