By Philip Tengzu
Wa, (UW/R), Sept. 17, GNA – A report by ActionAid has revealed that climate-vulnerable countries are spending about 65 per cent of their national revenues on servicing debt, leaving limited resources for climate action and essential public service provision.
The report said countries on the frontline of climate change were being trapped in a cycle of rising debt repayments, inadequate climate investment and increasing exposure to climate-related disasters.
It indicated that the situation was undermining the ability of vulnerable countries to respond to climate change, protect livelihoods, and implement development programmes.
For instance, the report said the cumulative debt burden of climate-vulnerable countries in 2026 was projected at 304.8 billion dollars, compared with 12.3 billion dollars allocated to climate action.
The report, titled “Debt Fuels the Climate Crisis: How the Finance Flows”, was based on analysis of data on domestic revenues, sovereign debt, national budgets and climate plans of 65 countries most vulnerable to climate change.
ActionAid produced the report in collaboration with the Development Finance International (DFI).
“Public debt repayment levels in the most climate-vulnerable countries are at an all-time high and globally at least 54 countries are in debt crisis, with many more at significant risk”, the report observed.
The 65 climate-vulnerable countries studied for this report had a total revenue of 487.8 billion dollars, with 65 per cent spent on debt servicing and only 35 per cent available for other expenditure.
It said expenditure of those countries on debt servicing was about four times the spending on education, seven times their health expenditure and about six times the social protection spending.
The report indicated that the climate funding gap had dire implications for the climate outlook, particularly for frontline communities.
It said the debt crisis had limited investments in adaptation, disaster preparedness, resilient infrastructure, sustainable agriculture, and greener energy systems.
The report also revealed that the Global North provided about USD 39 billion in grant-based climate finance to the Global South in 2024.
However, the Global South paid about 225 times more in debt repayments in that year than it received in climate finance grants.
It added that in 2026, the Global South was projected to pay 8.8 trillion dollars in debt repayments, representing 43.5 per cent of its budget revenues.
The report cited several countries bearing the impact of debt servicing on climate action and development, including Malawi, which was expected to spend 70 per cent of its national annual budget on debt repayments in 2026.
It also cited Zambia, as spending over 60 per cent of its budget and 70 per cent of its revenue on debt repayment, but allocated only 0.32 per cent of its budget to climate activities.
The report called for urgent international action to break the cycle between debt and climate crises, as debt relief and climate justice were essential to sustainable development.
It recommended the cancellation of all unpayable or unjust external debts to ensure that no climate-vulnerable country spent above 10 per cent of its national revenue on external debt repayments.
The report also urged countries to support a United Nations Framework Convention on the Sovereign Debt, among others.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Philip Tengzu