Rich nations face $5tn climate reparations bill

By Juliet Umeh

Climate activists in Nigeria, alongside their counterparts around the world, are mobilizing in hundreds of climate actions today to demand that governments in the Global North pay $5 trillion annually as a down payment toward their climate debt.

This action calls for compensation to countries, people, and communities in the Global South who bear the brunt of climate disasters, despite contributing the least to global emissions.

The Global North, comprising the world’s developed nations, is responsible for over 75 percent of global accumulated emissions since industrialization. In contrast, the Global South, made up of developing and least-developed countries, disproportionately suffers from the consequences of climate change, including rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and widespread destruction.

According to climate activists, wealthy countries have a responsibility to support climate action in developing countries, compensate for loss and damage, and ensure a just transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy and climate-resilient societies.

A 2023 study indicates that by 2050, the Global North will owe $192 trillion in fair reparations to the Global South, even if global warming is limited to 1.5°C. This equates to an annual climate debt of $5 trillion, underscoring the scale of financial obligations the Global North owes to the Global South.

The protests mark the peak of a global week of action ahead of Climate Week NYC, with civil society groups demanding rich countries pay for their reckless fossil fuel consumption, which has led to devastating climate impacts worldwide. These actions highlight the suffering in regions like Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Pacific Islands, and the Caribbean, where communities are enduring the consequences of lost lives, infrastructure destruction, crop failures, landslides, and ruined livelihoods.

Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, stressed, “Payment for historical liabilities should not be up for debate.

“On the principles of fairness, equity, and collective responsibility, countries whose development came at the expense of vulnerable Global South nations must commit to climate finance.

“Their reluctance reflects deliberate avoidance, and we are determined to force them into meaningful dialogue.”

As the UN COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan approaches in November, activists are calling for the Global North to commit trillions, not just billions, toward climate finance. A new global goal on climate finance is set to be one of the key areas of negotiation at COP29.

Co-Facilitator of the UNFCCC Women and Gender Constituency, Gina Cortés Valderrama, stated: “For too long, climate finance has been framed as charity from the rich to the poor. But the reality is an ecological crisis driven by imperialism and centuries of colonial exploitation. At COP29, we must reframe climate finance as a matter of justice. The Global North owes an ecological debt that must be paid with grants, not loans, which trap nations in unsustainable debt and undermine human rights.”

Despite agreements made at COP28 in Dubai to transition away from fossil fuels, the Global North continues to prioritize its economic growth, expanding oil, gas, and coal infrastructure. This adds to their growing climate debt, and activists demand an end to fossil fuel expansion and new investment plans.

Coordinator of the Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development and the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice, Lidy Nacpil, said, “It is unconscionable that Global North governments continue to reject their responsibility to deliver adequate climate finance to the Global South. If developed nations are serious about addressing climate change, they must agree to a climate finance target that covers the costs of mitigation, adaptation, just transition, and loss and damage. The Global South is owed trillions, not billions.”

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