Research Highlight
Africa’s Vicious Cycle of Debt and Climate Change
September 2025
Across Africa, climate shocks and debt distress fuel each other in a vicious cycle. With external debt more than tripling since 2008, rising costs and plunging currencies are squeezing public finances—leaving little room for vital climate resilience investments. A new policy brief by Alexander Dryden and Ulrich Volz unpacks these dynamics and questions whether current debt assessments are fit for purpose.
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Giving Voice to The Silent Debt Crisis: How Debt Relief Can Unlock Green Growth Pathways for Africa
October 2024
Africa is amongst the most vulnerable regions in the world to the impacts of climate change, while also grappling with a severe sovereign debt crisis. A new policy brief by Bogolo Kenewendo, Patrick Njoroge and Alexander Dryden analyzes Africa’s debt dynamics and outlines a proposal to unlock the continent’s potential for green growth and support climate resilience.
Another Lost Decade or a Decade of Action? Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Recovery
April 2023
Will the 2020s be a decade of action to achieve shared climate and development goals, or will it amount to another lost decade of development? A new policy brief by Marina Zucker-Marques and Ulrich Volz explains the proposal advanced by the Debt Relief for Green and Inclusive Recovery (DRGR) Project.
A Green Deal for the Amazon: Sovereign Sustainability-Linked Bonds
August 2023
As deforestation progresses at a torrid pace, countries in the Amazon region are increasingly vulnerable to climate change and its potential negative economic impacts. A new policy brief from Moritz Kraemer argues that tailored financial instruments can support incentives for conservation for both current and future governments in the Amazon region. Linking deforestation to debt service costs could create a clear financial incentive to policymakers to enforce national rules aimed at preventing deforestation.
V20 Debt Review: An Account of Debt in the Vulnerable Group of Twenty
October 2022
The Vulnerable Twenty (V20), a group of 55 climate vulnerable economies, are being squeezed from multiple sides. A new policy brief provides a detailed look at the V20’s debt profile.
SOAS ICOP Policy Briefing: Provide Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Recovery
October 2021
In line with recommendations for a green and inclusive recovery developed by an international team of economists, DRGR-author Ulrich Volz, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Finance at SOAS, urges the UK government, host of COP26, to propose urgently needed steps.