Debt and Climate
Debt & Climate
The countries that struggle the most with debt tend to be more vulnerable to the impact of climate change and these events then exacerbate debt problems further, creating a vicious circle. Explore how there can be no debt justice without climate justice in the following videos.
The Philippines
By Oriang Women's Movement, Quezon City
The Philippines is facing a serious debt and budget squeeze due to ever-growing debt servicing costs. At the end of 2024, national government debt was at US$276.1 billion according to official data, with domestic debt making up 68.1 per cent and external debt 31.9 per cent of the stock. While external debt service accounts for only 8.4 per cent of the government revenue, once domestic debt is included debt service increases to more than a third (37.13 per cent). At the same time, the government devotes just 8.77 per cent of revenue to health. As a result, the remaining public resources are nowhere near sufficient to tackle the problems that the country faces today, including the climate crisis.
The Philippines is highly exposed to typhoons, floods, sea-level rise and other climate shocks. Indeed, the World Bank describes the country as among the world’s most disaster-prone, and women in the Philippines are amongst those most affected by the vicious circle of debt and climate crises. With insufficient public resources to invest in adaptation and recovery from climate extreme events, women must deal with rebuilding their destroyed houses and businesses on their own.
Filipino civil society has long been campaigning for debt justice. In 2023, they launched a citizens’ debt audit campaign, calling for increased scrutiny of questionable and illegitimate debts. The campaign also challenges protocols that automatically allocate public funds to debt service without a democratic debate over the country’s social and climate needs.