Climate activists have called for the cancellation of Uganda’s external debt, and also debt owed by global south countries on the pretext that these countries are suffering adverse effects of climate change majorly caused by the heavily industrialized global North countries in Europe and North America.
The activists under Debt for Climate Uganda held a protest in Kampala on Monday saying that low developed countries are more vulnerable to climate crisis than the developed world.
Uganda’s public debt stands at 79 trillion shillings with 48.1 trillion of the debt stock classified as external debt while domestic debt totalling 30.7 trillion shillings.
The Debt Climate Uganda Founder, Reagan Elijah said low income countries such as Uganda always run to developed countries to borrow loans to address challenges caused by climate change yet developed countries are most responsible for the climate crisis.
“The climate crisis does not affect us equally. When you look at the global North, they are the biggest polluters of the past, the present, and even the future. They have polluted, and escalated climate crisis across the world. This climate crisis least affects them, and we Africans and other less developed countries are affected the most. Our people are affected by disasters. When these disasters hit, we don’t have the capacity to invest in climate resilience, and help our communities fight climate change. Our governments have to run to the global North to borrow yet the global North is most responsible, but least affected,” he said.
The protest coincides with the 70th anniversary of German debt cancellation in 1953 which significantly contributed to the growth of the post-war German economy and re-emergence of Germany as a world economic power.
The German debt cancellation helped to stabilize the German economy and set the stage for a period of strong economic growth.
Elijah said that if it was possible to cancel the debt of a country responsible for the atrocities committed during the World War II, then it is also possible to cancel the Uganda’s debt and debt owed by global south countries.
Elijah called on Germany to use its global power and influence to cause the cancellation of Uganda’s debt.
“Germany is the 4th largest polluter and also holds the 4th largest voting power in the IMF while it’s economic miracle to debt cancellation. We are calling on the German Finance Minister, Mr. Christian Lindner to fulfill his promise to call for the cancellation of the financial debts of the Global South. We also ask the Germany government and the German Ambassador to Uganda, H.E Mathias Schauer to get into action by calling for the cancellation of the illegitimate financial debt of a country most affected by the climate crisis,” he said.
He added: “We cannot solve the climate crisis without tackling the unsustainable debt levels of Global South countries. Lower income countries suffer from the worst impacts of climate change and have no choice but to borrow to pay for the costly recovery from extreme climatic events. They end up borrowing as well to invest in energy transition to reduce carbon emissions and in infrastructure to adapt to climate change.”
The Debt for Climate Uganda National Coordinator, Arthur Musinguzi said poor countries such as Uganda are deemed to owe massive financial debts to the rich nations, yet cannot pay them without destroying their economies and eco systems.
“The wealthiest countries (Global North) that hold the majority of the Global South’s financial debt have to pay their climate debt towards the Global South. Their economic growth has been and continues to be at the cost of over- exploiting the resources of Global South countries. Funding for loss and damage must be unconditional and accompanied by the cancellation of debt that is forcing African countries extract more fossil fuels to the benefits of the wealthy,” he said.