On Friday, climate activists participated in hundreds of actions worldwide, urging governments in the Global North to make an annual payment of US$5 trillion as a down payment toward their climate debt. This debt is owed to the countries, people, and communities of the Global South, which bear the brunt of the climate crisis despite contributing the least to its cause considering the emissions.

This comes amidst a new global climate finance goal, the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), which is set to be a central focus during negotiations at the upcoming UN COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November. Earlier discussions ended in stalemate as the developed countries failed to chart a path forward that would ensure consideration of the plights of developing countries.

Activists stressed that Global North countries must be prepared to commit trillions amounting to US$5 Trillion, not mere billions, in light of their climate debt that has long been evaded. Despite the agreement at COP28 in Dubai to transition away from fossil fuels, they point out that the Global North remains focused on economic growth, investing in new oil, gas, and coal projects rather than undertaking the necessary rapid emissions reductions or scaling up financial support for climate resilience in developing nations.

This ongoing expansion of fossil fuels only exacerbates the Global North’s growing climate debt which the protesters attributed their march to. Protesters worldwide called for an immediate halt to all fossil fuel expansion and investment.

Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, WWF’s Global Climate and Energy Lead, former Minister of Environment for Peru, and COP20 President, emphasized that decarbonizing all sectors, conserving and restoring nature, and protecting people from the impacts of climate change will be impossible without a significant and sustained increase in financial support from developed countries.

Climate activists argue that wealthy nations, responsible for over 75% of global emissions since the start of industrialization, should support climate action in developing countries. This support includes funding for adaptation, compensation for loss and damage caused by climate disasters, and ensuring a just transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy and climate-resilient societies.

Teresa Anderson, Global Lead on Climate Justice for ActionAid International, criticized the fact that more money is being invested in perpetuating the climate crisis while half the world already suffers from its consequences.

“The world’s poorest countries are bearing the spiraling costs of a warming planet, yet they have received only begrudging, tokenistic pennies in climate finance from the rich polluting nations,” said Anderson. “This year’s COP29 will be a critical test of wealthy countries’ commitment to securing a livable planet. We need them to agree to provide the trillions required to keep us safe, and this must come in the form of grants, not loans that drive climate-vulnerable countries further into debt.”

A 2023 study estimates that by 2050, the Global North will owe the Global South US$192 trillion in reparations, even if global warming is limited to 1.5°C. This translates into an annual climate debt of US$5 trillion owed by wealthy nations to poorer ones.

Lidy Nacpil, Co-ordinator of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development and the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice, called on developed countries to adopt a climate finance target that covers the costs of mitigation, adaptation, a just transition, and loss and damage. Nacpil stressed that the Global South is owed trillions—not billions—in climate reparations.

These protests marked the culmination of a global week of action ahead of Climate Week NYC, with civil society groups demanding that wealthy nations compensate US$5 Trillion for decades of reckless fossil fuel consumption. This consumption has led to rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and widespread destruction that disproportionately affects the Global South.

Norly Mercado, 350.org Asia Regional Director, highlighted that the hundreds of climate strikes across Asia reflect the growing movement for a just and equitable energy revolution. Mercado called on leaders of wealthy nations to fund this transition by taxing billionaires and fossil fuel companies, who have contributed most to the climate crisis. “We will continue to mobilize until our governments heed our demands for a future centered on people and the planet,” Mercado stated.

It’s evident that if achieved, a new and ambitious climate finance agreement could trigger the transformative global action needed to avert climate catastrophe through climate financing of up to US$5 Trillion. People worldwide are taking to the streets to demand a safer, fairer, and more prosperous future.

In regions such as Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Pacific Islands, and the Caribbean, the cost of inaction is evident in lost lives, destroyed infrastructure, crop failures, landslides, and ruined livelihoods. Tasneem Essop, Executive Director of Climate Action Network International, stressed that the governments, elites, and corporations of the Global North owe a climate debt to the Global South due to their disproportionately large contributions to climate change.

“The resources and solutions exist, but current political will prioritizes harmful activities like militarization and fossil fuel subsidies over climate action and justice. Trillions of dollars can be redirected toward positive change, making the wealthy and polluters pay for the damage they have caused,” Essop concluded.