As nations around the world step up borrowing to finance their COVID-19 recoveries, will they be able to pay the money back?

Climate shocks - from hurricanes and floods to chronic problems like water shortages and drought - are already battering economies, and could limit the ability of many nations to repay their heavy debt loads.

Few countries are recognising or admitting those climate-related risks, however, as they issued nearly $800 billion in long-term bonds last year. Oxford University researchers warned that both those who issue and buy the bonds are "flying blind".

And with just 18% of total coronavirus recovery spending directed to activities that would cut global emissions, economic stimulus risks leaving future generations trapped in a credit crunch just as they need money to address the next big global threat: climate change.

The heavy debt burden and lack of cash for climate action is a particular problem in Africa, where efforts to adapt to growing climate risk - with everything from heat-resistant crops to insurance that helps countries rebuild after a disaster - are being undermined by shifts in spending to deal with COVID-19, African leaders warned.

Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum said the economic downturn triggered by COVID-19 had destroyed jobs on a continent already struggling with legions of unemployed youth, "pushing them into the arms of organised crime and terrorists".

The African Development Bank has said it will raise $25 billion by 2025 to spur climate action in Africa, with at least half backing projects to adapt and build resilience to worsening droughts, storms, floods and sea level rise.

But "we are soon going to need at least this much every year if we do not effectively mitigate and reverse climate change," warned Gabon's President Ali Bongo.

What happens when governments fail to address their citizens' growing worries about climate risks?

In India, an estimated 7,000 voters boycotted elections last week in Kerala, saying there was no point in casting ballots with the government ignoring their pleas for help with the coastal erosion and floods that are swallowing their village.

"We have written petitions, talked to officials, gone on hunger strike and every year the worsening coastal flooding and its impact on our lives is there for everyone to see," one resident told our correspondent Anuradha Nagaraj.

On a lighter note, wondering how a "circular economy" could help battle climate change and waste? Our reporter Matt Blomberg explains in this fun video - don't miss it!

See you next week!

Laurie

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