{"id":79504,"date":"2025-11-05T15:49:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T14:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=79504"},"modified":"2025-11-05T15:49:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T14:49:34","slug":"how-politicians-can-make-polluters-pay-at-cop30-and-the-un-tax-convention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/79504\/how-politicians-can-make-polluters-pay-at-cop30-and-the-un-tax-convention\/","title":{"rendered":"How politicians can make polluters pay at COP30 and the UN Tax Convention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Polluters\u2019 Climate Bill<\/h2>\n\n

Just five international oil and gas giants \u2013 ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and TotalEnergies \u2013 are responsible for over $5 trillion in projected climate damages<\/a> based on their emissions since the Paris Agreement was adopted (between 2016 and 2025).<\/p>\n\n

That\u2019s the shocking finding from experts from Stanford and Delaware universities, who used the social cost of carbon methodology<\/a>, alongside emissions data from the Carbon Majors Database<\/a>. They calculated the economic value of damages hitting communities between now and 2300, as a result of carbon dioxide that was added to the atmosphere by these five companies over the last decade.<\/p>\n\n

This robust methodology, used regularly by policy analysts and former US administrations, puts a monetary value on the enormous costs that just a small fraction of the fossil fuel industry\u2019s emissions over the last decade are responsible for. <\/p>\n\n

We\u2019re talking about things like human health costs, rising sea levels, disruption to energy supplies, agriculture and labour productivity. It is important to note that no economic metric can ever truly measure the real cost, which is priceless – from lost friends and relatives, to damaged heritage and culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Using this calculation, alongside representative examples sourced from the International Disaster Database EM-DAT<\/a> of some of the most extreme weather events to hit the world over the past 10 years, Greenpeace International has designed a Polluters\u2019 Climate Bill <\/strong>addressed to the fossil fuel industry.<\/p>\n\n

\"Climate
In Acapulco, Greenpeace Mexico unfolded a giant ticket to show that the true cost of the climate crisis is being paid by people, while the government continues to allocate public funds to fossil fuel megaprojects that worsen the problem.
\u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Gustavo Graf<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The Polluters\u2019 Climate Bill<\/strong> is travelling around the world – from Climate Week in New York<\/a>, to Africa Energy Week in Cape Town<\/a>, Total Energies\u2019 office in Copenhagen<\/a>, the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage meeting in Pasay City<\/a>, Piazza di Spagna in Rome<\/a>, Altadena in California<\/a>, the UN Tax Convention negotiations in Nairobi, and COP30 in Bel\u00e9m. Its purpose is to send a simple message to politicians: it is time to make the fossil fuel industry pay up. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The case for making polluters pay<\/h2>\n\n

Making polluters pay for climate damages has never been more important in the context of the climate finance outcome at COP29 last year. Tangible plans are now urgently needed, which is why Greenpeace International is calling for a dedicated agenda item at COP30 and beyond – to deliver on the commitment for \u2018developed countries\u2019 to mobilise at least US $300 billion per year by 2035 for \u2018developing countries.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n

Concessional, grant-based public finance commitments also need to scale up to at least US$1 trillion per year for the most vulnerable and least responsible countries and communities, in line with needs. Making polluters pay is an innovative way, grounded in basic principles of justice, to ease pressure on public budgets while delivering on these vital obligations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Bolder taxes for multinational corporations and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are also vital to help clamp down on their polluting activities. At the moment, global tax rules are full of loopholes, meaning countries are losing US$492 billion in tax a year<\/a> to multinational corporations and wealthy individuals using tax havens (according to the Tax Justice Network), and annual global revenue losses from profit shifting in the extractives sector – including oil, gas and mining – reportedly amount to at least US$44 billion<\/a>. Governments are also giving out subsidies<\/a> for fossil fuel production to the tune of billions of dollars per year. This completely undermines efforts to deliver a global fossil fuel phaseout. <\/p>\n\n

There\u2019s no shortage of cash, <\/strong>given reported profits from ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and TotalEnergies alone amounted to almost US$ 800 billion<\/a> over the last 10 years. This is a matter of political will. That\u2019s why Greenpeace is calling for ambitious taxes on the biggest corporate polluters and the super-rich to unlock the funding that\u2019s urgently needed and speed up an equitable global fossil fuel phaseout.<\/p>\n\n

Growing political momentum<\/h2>\n\n
\"International
Youth leaders and frontline communities demonstrate in front of the Peace Palace, the seat of The International Court of Justice in The Hague, on 23 July 2025.
\u00a9 Tengbeh Kamara \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Don\u2019t just take our word for it. Here\u2019s a snapshot of the growing political pressure for action:<\/p>\n\n