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Reacting to Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s speech at the COP31 climate conference in Turkey, Neil Thorns, Director of Advocacy at CAFOD, said:
“Pledging British leadership, it was good to see the Prime Minister attend COP31 especially in the shameful absence of other leaders. Taking over the G20 Presidency soon, the Prime Minister must be ambitious on his pledge to work on debt. External debt payments for lower-income countries are at the highest level since the mid-1990s meaning those countries cutting back on spending on health, education and climate action.
“The UK needs to champion changes to the G20 Common Framework and can look to those recommendations from the African Union’s Common Position on Debt. The Prime Minister can show real leadership in his G20 Presidency starting with the necessary legal reforms in the UK to implement the suspension of payments during debt negotiations and ensure all private creditors participate in restructuring. We look forward to him participating in COP32 to ensure the G20 and COP are focused on the urgent ambition necessary to support those poor communities at the frontline of this crisis.”
For more information or interview requests, please contact:
Rosalind Mayfield, CAFOD Media Lead
Melissa Nethersole, CAFOD Media Officer
CAFOD’s out-of-hours media line
CAFOD is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and part of Caritas Internationalis, working with communities across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America to fight poverty and injustice, including those worst hit by climate change. The agency works with people in need, regardless of race, gender, religion or nationality.
CAFOD is funded mainly by voluntary donations from people in the Catholic community of England and Wales. We also receive funding from fellow Catholic charities and development agencies, the DEC, trusts and foundations, and the UK and other governments.