FoE Scotland 

Ecological debt is the idea that 'the North' (the world_s richer industrialised countries) have built up a debt to 'the South' (the world's poorer countries) through our history of exploiting their environments for our benefit. The ultimate objective of this paper is the acknowledgment of Ecological Debt by local policymakers, and the establishment of a symbolic framework for its repayment.

As Ecological Debt is essentially a political and historical debt, it must be treated politically, not economically, focusing on demands for real change in the model of development. The international recognition of Ecological Debt would offer a lever for negotiations and to question the authority of international financial institutions and unequal wealth distribution1.

In Parts 1 and 2, the concepts of Ecological Debt and External Debt are introduced and the mechanisms that generate them are revealed. In Part 3, a share of the UK’s Ecological Debt (the Carbon Debt) is quantified and compared with the External Debt owed to the UK by the HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries). Specific case-studies have been formulated in Part 4 to illustrate different ways of acquiring Ecological Debt. In Part 5, some interesting facts and figures are presented comparing western consumption patterns and investment in renewable energy and the military with both External Debt and Ecological Debt. Finally, in Part 6 our demands from policy-makers are stated.

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