Tired of a system that favours polluters and perpetuates debt, African leaders are demanding climate and debt justice ahead of the G20. Their proposal would fundamentally change how green technology is rewarded and how the continent funds its future.

The International Symposium on Global Justice and Africa's G20 Priorities kicked off at UCT on Monday 23 June, introducing an Ecological Impact Fund, a proposal designed to scale up green technology and reward environmental preservation in the Global South, and a reimagined global debt framework.

Researchers, civil society, faith leaders, economists and policymakers spent Monday diagnosing the roots of financial inequality, hoping to shape actionable proposals on debt justice to present to the G20.

"At this moment of global fracture... the G20 Presidency of South Africa is not merely a diplomatic opportunity; it is a summons for Africa to raise its moral voice rooted in our lived reality and our spiritual heritage. We must speak not just with economic data, but with the cries of our people and the ethical agency of our faith," said Bishop Thulani Mbuyisa.

Mbuyisa is the Catholic Bishop of Kokstad Diocese and chairperson of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC) Department of Social Action. He...