By Daniel Igboekwe
Climate activists from Africa, in partnership with global organizations, have staged a peaceful protest at the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, rejecting climate debt swaps proposed by Global North countries.
The protest, led by the Africa Make Big Polluters Pay (MBPP) coalition alongside groups like the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), Eurodadd, Latindadd, Debt Justice UK, and Recourse, called for urgent debt cancellation and grant-based climate financing for countries in the Global South.
Gathering outside a plenary hall, demonstrators demanded a $5 trillion annual reparation down payment from wealthy polluter nations.
The funds, they argued, are critical for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the impacts of extreme weather events on vulnerable nations.
The activists rejected the debt swap mechanism increasingly promoted by the Global North, arguing that it fails to provide meaningful relief and poses risks to the sovereignty and development of Global South nations.
Instead, they called for comprehensive debt cancellation to alleviate the financial burdens faced by these countries while tackling climate crises.
Waving banners with slogans like “Make Big Polluters Pay,” “Cancel the Debt,” and “No to Loans as Climate Finance,” the protesters underscored their rejection of loans disguised as climate solutions.
“Debt swaps do not significantly reduce debt levels and can harm local communities,” said Hilda Nakabuye of Fridays for Future, Uganda. “These mechanisms risk legitimizing illegitimate debts that continue to burden our populations. What we need is comprehensive debt cancellation and grant-based financing to address the climate crisis effectively.”
Olamide Martins Ogunlade of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) echoed the sentiment. “While COP29 leaders talk in circles, Global South nations are drowning in debt caused by a crisis they didn’t create. There can be no climate justice without debt justice,” he said, urging global action.
The protest highlights a growing rift between climate-vulnerable nations and wealthier polluters over equitable solutions to the climate crisis, with activists demanding accountability and immediate support for those most affected.