54 countries in danger of bankruptcy: UN

A UN higher official has warned that_ more than 50 of the poorest developing nations are in danger of defaulting on their debt and becoming effectively bankrupt unless the rich world offers urgent assistance.

Head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Achim Steiner came up with the statement at the Cop27 UN climate summit_ according to a report published by The Guardian.

The UNDP head said_  Inflation_ the energy crisis and rising interest rates are creating conditions where an increasing number of countries are in danger of default_ with potentially disastrous impacts on their people.

 There are currently 54 countries on our list [of those likely to default] and if we have more shocks  interest rates go up further_ borrowing becomes more expensive_ energy prices_ food prices  it becomes almost inevitable that we will see a number of these economies unable to pay_ Achim Steiner said.

 And that creates a catastrophic scenario  look at Sri Lanka [which has descended into civil strife] with all the social and economic and political implications this carries with it.

Steiner added_ any such default would create further problems for solving the climate crisis.  It certainly will not help [climate] action_ the UN official said.

Without measures to help them with debt_ he warned_ poor countries could not get to grips with the climate crisis.

 The issue of debt has now become such a big problem for so many developing economies that dealing with the debt crisis becomes a precondition for actually accelerating climate action_ he said.

 We need to inject targeted liquidity into countries to be able to invest in energy transitions_ and adaptation [to the impacts of extreme weather].

The climate crisis is further compounding the problem_ he warned_ as countries are facing increasing effects from extreme weather. Poor countries are not receiving the funding they were promised from the rich world_ yet are facing a growing danger of storms_ floods_ droughts and heat waves.