“Big polluter countries must pay” – Activists protest at COP29

Climate activists from the Africa Make Big Polluters Pay (MBPP) coalition in collaboration with the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), Eurodadd, Latindadd, Debt Justice UK and Recourse, held a peaceful protest against climate injustice at the just concluded COP29 United Nations climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The demonstrators, who gathered outside one of the plenary halls for their protest,  demanded urgent debt cancellation and grant-based climate finance from the Global North for climate change victims of the Global South, including countries and communities in Africa.

This was in addition to a demand for $5 trillion a year as a reparation down payment from polluter countries, to help victim countries cut greenhouse gases and cope with the impacts of extreme weather.

The demands  from the protest contrasted with  a resurging proposal from the rich countries of the Global North for debt swaps for climate change victim nations and communities.

While the polluters present debt swaps as a dual solution for debt and climate issues, debt swaps fall short in practice and pose risks that threaten to harm Global South countries and communities.

Chanting solidarity songs and waving banners and flags with slogans such as “Make Big Polluters Pay”, “Cancel the debt”, and “No to loans as climate finance”, the activists rejected debt swaps, saying the Global South needs urgent debt cancellation and grant-based climate finance.

“Debt swaps do not significantly reduce debt levels and can undermine our local communities. They may even legitimise illegitimate debts that burden our populations. Instead of relying on these risky mechanisms, we urgently need comprehensive debt cancellation and grant-based climate finance that truly empowers our nations and addresses the climate crisis head-on. It is time for rich countries to fulfil their commitments and support us with the resources we need to protect our environment and secure a sustainable future for all,” said Hilda Nakabuye of Fridays For Future, Uganda.

Olamide Martins Ogunlade of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) in Nigeria, agreed.

He said: “While leaders at COP29 talk in circles, the people of the Global South are suffocating under unjust debt while paying the price for a crisis they didn’t create. There is no climate justice without debt justice. Join us in making this clear to the world.”