ESG & Investing
Kenya’s Ruto, AfDB’s Adesina Say Tackling Climate Depends on Africa Debt Fix
- Kenya’s President, AfDB call for pause in interest payments
- Africa is bearing the brunt of climate change, they say
William Ruto drives in an Air EV Yetu mini electric vehicle after attending the Africa Climate Summit.
Photographer: Fredrik Lerneryd/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Kenyan President William Ruto and the heads of two major finance and climate institutions said without a 10 to 20 year moratorium on interest payments on foreign debt the world’s poorest continent won’t be able to cope with climate change.
High debt levels built up by African nations during the global pandemic to finance their citizens and economies have left the continent paying more in loan servicing charges than it needs to invest in climate resilience projects, Ruto and his co-writers said in an opinion piece published by the New York Times.