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By: Sebbie, Edward Graham
The world’s 65 most climate-vulnerable countries are said to spend nearly 25 times more on debt repayments than on climate action, with debt servicing consuming 65% of their combined government revenue, according to ActionAid.
The report released on September 16, 2026, reveals that the Global South is paying approximately $8.8 trillion in debt repayments in 2026, compared to just $39 billion received in grant-based climate finance in 2024, 225 times more in repayments than in climate grants.
The organisation warns that 93.5% of the most climate-vulnerable countries are already at significant risk of debt distress. According to the report, which analysed public revenues, national budgets and climate plans across the top third most vulnerable countries, debt cancellation could fund their basic, unconditional national climate plans six times over.
ActionAid says debt and climate are locked in a vicious cycle as climate disasters force countries to take new loans to recover, while repayments and austerity squeeze investment in resilience, health, education and social protection. Governments are pushed to expand fossil fuel extraction and industrial agriculture, driving more emissions and more disasters in their bid to earn foreign currency to repay lenders.
The report notes that two-thirds of what rich countries label as climate finance arrives as loans, often at high commercial rates, rather than grants.
“For too long, the debt and climate crises have been treated separately. This research exposes how tightly they are connected and quantifies the devastating cost involved,” said Arthur Larok, Secretary-General of ActionAid International. He said, “Action on debt can unlock countries’ own resources on a scale that few other climate measures can match.”
Global Lead on Climate Justice at ActionAid and co-author of the report, Teresa Anderson, described the development as a triple whammy.
“Debt is a triple whammy for the climate: it drives fossil fuel and industrial agriculture expansion, blocks vital climate action, and leaves communities dangerously exposed when disasters strike,” she noted.
The report cites Senegal, where debt servicing in 2026 is more than 600 times the country’s budgeted climate spending and exceeds 96% of government revenue, delaying investment in agroecology and other resilience measures.
“In Senegal, the red flags could not be clearer. Behind these figures are impossible choices between servicing debt and investing in public services and climate resilience,” said Khaita Sylla, Country Director of ActionAid Senegal.
In Ghana, Country Director John Nkaw said the current debt architecture looks colonial and called for semi-automatic cancellation for countries spending more than 10 to 15 percent of revenue on debt servicing.
The report was launched as part of the Global Week of Climate Action.
ActionAid and its allies are calling for cancellation of unpayable debt for countries spending over 10% of revenue on external repayments, a universal rule to suspend debt payments after climate disasters, a UN Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt, and for climate finance to be delivered as grants and not loans.
Concerned about the growing climate change and its debilitating effects, ActionAid Ghana has roled out initiatives in some most affected communities across Ghana to help reduce its impact on lives and livelihoods. The measures include the deployment of nature-based approach to restore the vegetation of the coastline aimed at replenishing carbon for quality of life and provide alternative livelihoods.
