Climate finance driving poor countries deeper into debt, says Oxfam

(The Guardian, 20 Oct 2020) Countries that did least to cause crisis having to take loans to protect themselves, says charity

Billions of dollars are being loaned on high-interest terms to poor countries seeking help to cope with the impacts of climate breakdown, according to an Oxfam report.

The loan terms risk storing up debt burdens lasting far into the future, the charity says.

Poor countries are reported to have received about $60bn (£45bn) of climate finance from rich governments and publicly funded institutions in 2017-18, the latest year for which reliable data is available. Oxfam estimates that the amount that actually reached them was more like $19bn to $22.5bn when interest, repayments and other costs are subtracted.

The world’s least developed countries received $3.2bn in loans in 2017-18 to help them with the costs of adapting to the ravages of the climate crisis, according to Oxfam, which analysed data from the UN and OECD.

External link

The Guardian, 20 Oct 2020: Climate finance driving poor countries deeper into debt, says Oxfam