Maputo, June 30, 2025 (Lusa) - Mozambique’s government said on Monday it was in negotiations with some countries to exchange debt for climate financing, an issue that the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) will address, which kicks off today in Seville.
"We are identifying other countries that may join this initiative, and we are interested in it because, on the one hand, debt-for-climate swaps benefit our own country, since debt servicing is channelled into climate change-related actions in our country. And we know how exposed our country is to climate change,” said Finance Minister Carla Loveira before the start of FfD4, organised by the United Nations.
The minister is accompanying the president of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, at this conference and explained that Mozambique will present, “concerning financing and development,” the results of its experience in three main areas, starting with financial inclusion, with the creation of a Development Bank.
Another pillar that Mozambique is taking to Seville, Spain, is energy transition and how the country can “maximise carbon market gains to catapult financing”.
“Financial inclusion still encompasses green financing,” the minister stressed, noting that the country participates through international organisations. “In climate finance, the key actions we are working on concern the debt-for-climate swap component, and we will share our experience on them,” explained Carla Loveira.
The minister added that “there is interest” from some countries in this debt swap: “Mozambique is designing a climate finance strategy, so we are carrying out debt-for-climate swap actions. There are interested countries, some of which have expressed their interest, and we have signed an agreement, as is the case with Belgium. And so this is a segment we are working on.”
At issue, explained Carla Loveira, is a mechanism whereby “countries offer options to debtor countries” in order to “work on the existing debt”, with some countries having “forgiven the debt of developing countries” in the past.
“So what these countries are saying is that if a country has a debt to another country, it should use the remainder to finance climate-related actions, such as climate-resilient infrastructure and climate insurance, rather than pay off the debt,” the minister concluded.
More than 60 world leaders and 4,000 representatives of civil society are meeting this week in Seville to relaunch development aid. The United Nations (UN) reports that an additional $4 billion each year will help close the current funding gap.
The president of Mozambique will participate in FfD4 as part of a working visit to Spain, which began on Sunday and will continue until 3 July.
“At this conference, the participants will adopt the ‘Seville Commitment,’ which is a plan for development financing for the next decade,” said the Mozambican Presidency.
The 4th UN International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) is taking place from Monday to Thursday, ten years after the previous conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2015.
The goal now is to “renew the global development financing framework” at a time of “significant geopolitical tensions and conflicts” and when the goals agreed by the international community in the 2030 Agenda have progressed slowly, according to the text of the “Seville Commitment,” the declaration the UN has already negotiated and is expected to adopt this week formally.
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