The intertwined challenges of climate and fiscal crises are devastating the ecologies and economies of countries around the world. This is felt most acutely in the Global South, which is swamped with debt, economically eroded by tax abuse, and forced to operate in a global financial system where rules are written by, and in favor of, the wealthy Global North. The Caribbean has a unique, heightened vulnerability to the crisis: as a result of past colonial plunder and modern economic exploitation, the region is among the most highly indebted in the world, and the climate is collapsing.
Through discussions with movements and experts, as well as an analysis of the fiscal drain experienced by Caribbean governments through debt service and tax avoidance, this report underscores the urgent need for climate reparations—through both additional funding and structural economic reform—to address the intertwined economic and environmental crises gripping the region.