Debt Crisis and Climate Change in West Africa

Debt Crisis and climate change are two of the biggest problems faced by developing regions with far reaching implications for development. These twin problems of debt burden and climate vulnerability are by far more pronounced in the West African sub region. However, the nexus between debt crisis and climate change particularly climate response capacity in West Africa has received limited attention in research. Therefore, this study undertakes a situational analysis of the debt profile and climate vulnerability of selected West African states; analyses the impact of unsustainable debt on the climate change responses of West African states; and appraises the role of climate diplomacy as a tool for securing debt relief for selected West African states. The study employed secondary data from scholarly articles, government reports, policy briefs, estimates and projections from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and other web sources. The study analysed the data using content and descriptive analyses. The study found an intricate link between debt crisis and climate change. The result showed that climate change is a “threat multiplier” that exacerbates existing problems including debt crisis and dependence in West African countries. Also, the study showed that the capacity of West African countries to effectively respond to issues of climate change is strongly impacted by the crisis of debt. The research concludes that without innovative debt-for-climate financing models, strengthened institutions and hard policy choices, climate action in the sub-region is less likely to meet set targets