Finance meeting: Tax the wealthiest polluters to fund climate action

Bangkok, Thailand – As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meetings commence in Bangkok, Thailand faces widespread flooding, and people are left to deal with the devastating fallout of a financial system that continues to let the wealthiest polluters continue to profit while they pollute. As governments and international financial institutions gather to address pressing global challenges, it is very clear that securing sufficient funds for climate action and nature protection must include taxing the wealthiest polluters. Pichmol Rugrod, Plastic-Free Future project lead, Greenpeace Thailand said: “The floods affecting communities across Thailand show how the costs of a changing climate are increasingly being borne by ordinary people – through damaged homes, lost income and livelihoods, and public money needed for recovery. This is what climate debt looks like in people’s lives. Those who have contributed the least should not continue to pay the highest price, while the wealthiest polluters continue to profit and pay nothing. As global financial leaders meet in Bangkok, taxing the wealthiest polluters must be identified as part of the solution, with the revenues used to support affected communities and fund climate action.” In 2022 alone, investments by the world’s richest 0.01% in carbon-intensive industries were associated with an estimated US$992 billion in climate costs incurred, a figure comparable to global climate finance requirements. To claim money to develop proper solutions for the people and hold those most responsible for climate damage accountable, countries must be able to find ways to tax the wealthiest polluters. Gerance Mutwol , Fair Share project lead, Greenpeace Africa , said: “As the climate crisis worsens, policy responses are falling far short of the urgent need for funding for mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage. It is outrageous that ultra-wealthy polluters continue to profit from investments in and ownership of highly polluting industries driving the climate crisis, while international financial institutions continue to put debt repayments and fiscal austerity ahead of protecting communities. “To fund a fair and resilient future for generations to come, governments must be able to redesign tax systems so they benefit the majority, not just the wealthiest. Governments must support a strong UN Tax Convention to close tax loopholes that drain national budgets, protect countries’ taxing rights and ensure tax systems support sustainable development goals and not work against them.” Greenpeace International is calling for the IMF and World Bank to move beyond recommendations for austerity to taxation of high-net-worth individuals and the profits of corporate polluters like fossil fuels companies, in order to unlock much-needed funding for countries to act on climate. We are calling on governments to use the UN Tax Convention to build fairer global tax rules, end harmful tax practices that deprive countries of billions in revenue, and make the wealthiest polluters pay for the climate and environmental damages they cause to fund a fair and green future.[1] Together with over 200 civil society organizations, trade unions, and climate coalitions from across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, Greenpeace Africa is participating in the International Peoples’ Assembly taking place on 12-13 October at Ambassador Hotel Bangkok. ENDS Notes: [1] The Global Tax Treaty, also known as the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, is the first genuinely inclusive forum for delivering fair and inclusive global tax rules. Unlike under the OECD, every country has an equal vote, and decisions are taken by majority rather than consensus. The next round of negotiations (INC-6) will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 30 November to 12 December. Read our media briefing from INC-5 here. Contacts: Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org