ACTIONAID: IT’S RICH NATIONS THAT OWE AFRICA!

A new report by ActionAid - titled ‘Who Owes Who?’ - challenges the assumption that it’s Africa that’s a net debtor to the world. It argues that rich nations owe a ‘climate debt’ worth $107 trillion to developing ones, which feel the brunt of the West’s industrialised polluting of the planet. Moreover, debt-burdened African nations in particular have to resort to adopting policies that worsen the climate crisis in order to service IMF and other loans - and much of this debt wouldn’t have been necessary if the colonial era (together with ongoing exploitation) hadn’t bled Africa dry. We spoke to ActionAid’s head of programmes. He told us a simple solution would be to forgive Africa’s debt. Have a watch and let us know what you think of his arguments.

Sources

https://actionaid.org/publications/2025/who-owes-who