In this session we aim to explore the relationship between biodiversity loss and the high sovereign debt burdens faced by many countries in the Global South, much of which are rooted in colonial-era economic structures. With high debt service costs, many governments are left with shrinking fiscal space to invest in conservation. At the same time, the need to earn foreign currency to service debt (much of it denominated in U.S. dollars) can drive countries to expand in environmentally harmful industries such as mining, industrial agriculture, and fossil fuel production for export.

The growing material risks of nature loss are also affecting sovereign credit ratings, which reduces investor confidence and thereby increases borrowing costs. Despite this, much of climate and biodiversity finance channeled to the Global South continues to be delivered in the form of loans, which risks exacerbating debt crises. In this way, growing sovereign debt burdens and biodiversity loss risks creating a vicious cycle.

In this session we bring a macro-financial lens to the biodiversity finance conversation, exploring how debt and fiscal vulnerability affects the extent to which biodiversity loss in the Global South can be addressed in alignment with wider social justice objectives.

We invite discussion on questions such as:
- How can debt justice considerations be integrated in biodiversity finance commitments?
- How can sovereign debt relief mechanisms be designed to expand fiscal space for conservation without reinforcing new forms of dependency?
- What role can credit rating agencies, development banks, and international financial institutions play in aligning debt sustainability with biodiversity protection?