{
  "id": 8193378,
  "title": "Debt servicing takes about 65% of climate-vulnerable countries’ revenues – Report",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/debt-servicing-takes-about-65-of-climate-vulnerable-countries",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-18T06:47:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ghana Business News",
    "slug": "ghana-business-news",
    "url": "https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2026/09/18/debt-servicing-takes-about-65-of-climate-vulnerable-countries-revenues-report/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A report by ActionAid has uncovered that climate-vulnerable countries are allocating approximately 65% of their national revenues to debt servicing, leaving scant resources for climate action and essential public services. These nations, situated in the path of climate change, are ensnared in a cycle of mounting debt repayments, insufficient climate investments, and heightened exposure to climate disasters. This predicament impedes their capacity to tackle climate change, safeguard livelihoods, and implement development initiatives. The report projects that by 2026, the cumulative debt burden of climate-vulnerable countries will reach $304.8 billion, compared to the meager $12.3 billion allocated to climate action. Titled \"Debt Fuels the Climate Crisis: How the Finance Flows\", the study analyzed data on domestic revenues, sovereign debt, national budgets, and climate plans of 65 countries most susceptible to climate change, in collaboration with Development Finance International (DFI). The report underscores that public debt repayment levels in these vulnerable countries are at an unprecedented high, with at least 54 countries currently in a debt crisis, many more at significant risk. These 65 countries together generated a total revenue of $487.8 billion, with 65% directed towards debt servicing and only 35% available for other expenditures. The report reveals that debt servicing expenses of these countries are four times the education spending, seven times the health expenditure, and six times the social protection spending. Furthermore, the climate financing shortfall poses grave implications for the climate outlook, particularly for frontline communities. The Global North provided about $39 billion in grant-based climate finance to the Global South in 2024, while the Global South paid about 225 times more in debt repayments that year than it received in climate finance grants. By 2026, the Global South is projected to pay $8.8 trillion in debt repayments, accounting for 43.5% of its budget revenues. Countries like Malawi are set to spend 70% of its annual budget on debt repayments in 2026, while Zambia spends over 60% of its budget and 70% of its revenue on debt repayment, yet allocates only 0.32% of its budget to climate activities. The report calls for urgent international action to break the debt-climate crisis cycle, emphasizing debt relief and climate justice as crucial for sustainable development. It recommends canceling all unpayable or unjust external debts, ensuring no climate-vulnerable country spends more than 10% of its national revenue on external debt repayments. The report also advocates for support for a United Nations Framework Convention on the Sovereign Debt, among other measures.",
  "summary": "A report by ActionAid has revealed that climate-vulnerable countries are spending about 65 per cent of their national revenues on servicing debt, leaving limited resources for climate action and essential public service provision. The post Debt servicing takes about 65% of climate-vulnerable countries’ revenues – Report appeared first on Ghana Business News .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}