At COP31, Ethiopia puts developing countries’ debt interest at $1 trillion
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Africanews
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said developing countries spend nearly $1 trillion a year on interest on their public debt, limiting their ability to invest in climate resilience. He called on multilateral financial institutions to reduce the cost of financing at COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, according to Africanews.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed estimated that developing countries pay nearly $1 trillion a year in interest on public debt. He called on multilateral financial institutions to reduce borrowing costs to free up resources for adaptation to climate change, at COP31 in Antalya, according to Africanews.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, for his part, called for increased support for Pacific island nations, which are particularly exposed to global warming. He notably cited the Pacific Resilience Facility, a climate financing mechanism created in 2025 with several countries in the region, and called for faster investment in clean technologies and electrification.
Abiy Ahmed also stressed that reducing borrowing costs was, in his view, a test of the credibility of international cooperation. Ethiopia will host COP32 in Addis Ababa from 8 to 19 November 2027, taking over the international climate negotiations after the Antalya conference.
Scientists consider it likely that the threshold of 1.5°C of warming above the pre-industrial era will be exceeded, a central goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement, according to Africanews. The issue of adaptation financing remains at the heart of developing countries’ concerns.
