By Bunmi Yekini
Climate activists sent a clear message on Finance Day at COP29, chanting “Polluters, pay up!” and demanding “trillions, not billions” in climate finance for communities facing climate devastation. Representatives from organizations like ActionAid, APMDD, CAN, and DCJ gathered with a 10-meter-long “invoice” detailing the financial burdens borne by the Global South, calling on wealthier nations to take responsibility.
Teresa Anderson, Global Lead on Climate Justice at ActionAid International, emphasized that it’s time for developed nations to meet their climate obligations. “The time for excuses is up,” Anderson stated. “Developed countries simply need to own up for the harm they have caused. It is absurd that people in the Global South, who have done little to cause the crisis, have been forced to bear the costs of climate destruction unleashed by richer countries.”
The “giant itemized climate invoice” displayed by the activists listed costs for loss, damage, adaptation, and mitigation—expenses that activists say have been left to developing countries with little support. Anderson insisted that a substantial commitment is overdue, declaring, “If developing countries want to avert runaway climate breakdown, they need to repay the debt owed to the Global South.”
Youth climate activist Sylvia Kijangwa from Tanzania expressed her concerns about the worsening impacts of the climate crisis on her country. “In my country, women and young girls are increasingly forced to walk long distances in search of water, putting them at risk of attacks by wildlife and abuse at water wells,” Kijangwa explained. “Our children are suffering from malnutrition due to the food crisis as empty promises become the norm. COP29 is the right time to provide finance for the costs of climate impacts that we are still paying.”
Nura Mohamed, Program Manager of ActionAid Somaliland, highlighted how climate inaction affects women and girls disproportionately, especially in drought-stricken areas. “Women and girls in Somaliland cannot wait any longer as major polluters continue to evade accountability for the climate debts owed to communities devastated by climate change,” Mohamed said. “With climate shocks threatening our very survival, we are now demanding climate finance in the trillions, not the billions.”
As Finance Day concluded, activists urged wealthy nations to move beyond promises and take immediate, substantial action to support climate-vulnerable communities.