The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) is pushing for reforms to global climate financing, with member states demanding greater access to grants and compensation for climate-related losses rather than loans that deepen their debt burdens.
Climate finance is expected to feature prominently in discussions with the European Union (EU) during a joint parliamentary assembly in Brussels, following resolutions adopted at the 65th OACPS Parliamentary Assembly on Monday.
The meetings, which bring together legislators from OACPS and EU member states, began with the parliamentary assembly and are scheduled to continue until Friday.
Uganda's Deputy Speaker of Parliament and President of the OACPS Parliamentary Assembly, Thomas Tayebwa, who chaired the assembly, said member states must collectively demand climate justice and ensure that countries responsible for the largest share of global emissions contribute more towards addressing its consequences.
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He argued that African, Caribbean and Pacific countries were bearing a disproportionate share of climate-related damage despite contributing relatively little to global emissions.
"The ones who are emitting a lot are not feeling the impact, as we are, who are emitting less. If you look at the OACPS countries, in total, we don't emit more than, on average, more than 6%. But the impact is huge on us," Tayebwa told delegates.
He cited rising sea levels, coastal erosion and damage to coral reefs in the Caribbean, alongside drought, hunger and famine in Africa, as examples of the growing climate pressures facing member states. Pacific countries, he added, were also confronting increasingly difficult environmental conditions.
While acknowledging that European countries were also experiencing the effects of global warming, Tayebwa said OACPS members needed a coordinated approach in their engagement with the EU and other international partners.
He called for the principle of polluters paying for climate damage to move beyond political declarations and become a practical financing commitment.
Dr James Murombedzi, former head of the Africa Climate Policy Centre at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), said the financing model currently available to developing countries was worsening an already difficult debt situation.
In a presentation titled Financing Climate Resilience Without Deepening Debt, Murombedzi warned that the heavy reliance on loans for climate interventions was inappropriate for countries already struggling to finance development and respond to recurring disasters.
He said low-income countries suffer substantial economic and welfare losses from climate shocks despite contributing the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, while the resources available to help them adapt remain inadequate.
Murombedzi recommended prioritising grants for adaptation projects that do not generate direct revenue, while reserving loans for affordable, revenue-generating investments capable of supporting repayment.
He also called for direct financing for Loss and Damage to support emergency response, recovery and reconstruction in countries already experiencing climate-related destruction, rather than concentrating funding exclusively on preventing future risks.
Among his other recommendations were expanding pre-arranged disaster financing mechanisms, incorporating climate-resilient debt clauses into loan agreements and simplifying application procedures to improve developing countries' direct access to climate finance.
Such debt clauses would allow countries to temporarily suspend loan repayments when severe climate disasters occur, freeing resources for emergency response and reconstruction.
He also urged greater investment in public goods, including food security and early-warning systems, which can protect communities before disasters strike.
Beyond financing, Murombedzi said OACPS countries needed a more coordinated and adequately resourced presence in international climate negotiations, particularly at the annual United Nations climate conferences known as the Conference of the Parties (COP).
"I'm not sure that there is any organised presence of OACPS to support, to provide inputs into those negotiating processes, but also to provide support at the negotiations themselves," he said.
He noted that OACPS delegations were often smaller and less adequately resourced than those from wealthier countries, limiting their capacity to conduct research, generate evidence and participate effectively in negotiations.
"We have the smallest delegations, sometimes the least skilled, and also the least resourced," he said.
Delegates from several member states echoed the call for reforms, arguing that the existing international financial architecture does not adequately account for the vulnerability of countries repeatedly exposed to climate disasters.
Dwight Sutherland, the Barbados delegate, said climate change posed an immediate threat to the economic stability of small island developing states, extending beyond environmental damage to affect their ability to finance development.
He called for support for the Bridgetown Initiative, which seeks to reform international financial arrangements to enable climate-vulnerable countries to access affordable financing, respond to disasters and invest in resilience without undermining development priorities.
"The Bridgetown Initiative seeks to reform the international financial architecture so that climate-vulnerable countries can respond to shocks, invest in resilience, and finance their development on affordable terms," Sutherland said.
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David Houdeingar Ngarimaden, Chad's delegate, illustrated the scale of environmental changes confronting vulnerable communities by citing the shrinking area of Lake Chad.
"I will also mention the case of Lake Chad, whose area was 25,000 km² a few years ago. With the climate shock, we are now at 2,500 km²," he said.
He said the shrinking lake demonstrated the consequences of environmental degradation for communities whose livelihoods depend on natural resources.
Mauritius representative Mohamed Ehsan Juman highlighted the widening gap between the resources available for climate adaptation and the financing developing countries require.
"The recent report of the United Nations Environment Programme provides for an annual deficit in financing for adaptation to climate change of 272 billion euros by 2035," Juman said.
Jamaica's representative, Heroy Clarke, challenged the use of loans to finance recovery from climate disasters, citing Hurricane Melissa, which devastated Jamaica in 2025.
He argued that countries should not be expected to borrow money and pay interest to rebuild after climate disasters, particularly when their contribution to global emissions has been relatively small.
"Loans for Loss and Damage are morally and economically indefensible. You cannot lend a country money to recover from a harm it did not cause, then charge interest on its suffering," Clarke said.
