{"id":81233,"date":"2026-02-06T11:45:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T10:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=81233"},"modified":"2026-02-09T15:18:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T14:18:43","slug":"the-un-tax-convention-could-be-a-game-changer-so-why-is-ambition-still-stuck-in-first-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/81233\/the-un-tax-convention-could-be-a-game-changer-so-why-is-ambition-still-stuck-in-first-gear\/","title":{"rendered":"The UN Tax Convention could be a game-changer. So why is ambition still stuck in first gear?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Activists from the UK action group Everyone hates Elon and Greenpeace Italy unfolded a giant 20x20m banner reading \u201cIf you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax\u201d on Piazza San Marco, as Jeff Bezos was due to celebrate his wedding in the lagoon city.
\u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Michele Lapini<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

If you\u2019ve been following global climate and finance politics lately, you\u2019ll have noticed a strange contradiction.<\/p>\n\n

On the one hand, governments keep telling us we need more climate finance, fairer taxation, and new public resources to deal with climate breakdown, inequality and crumbling public services. On the other hand, when it comes to the one global forum designed to actually fix international tax rules – the UN Tax Convention – that bold ambition doesn\u2019t translate.<\/p>\n\n

These negotiations, currently underway in New York, present a unique chance to hold corporate tax avoiders and polluters accountable, unlocking trillions in public funds for climate action, nature protection, and vital public services. Instead of rising to that moment, however, the process risks failing to deliver the transformative change many countries are calling for.<\/p>\n\n

Same governments. Same problems. Very different energy. So what\u2019s going on?<\/p>\n\n

\"United
500 Greenpeace Africa volunteers gather to send out a message to governments to tax the super-rich, ahead of the UN Tax Convention (UNTC) negotiations taking place in Nairobi.
\u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Helium Creations<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Principles everywhere, commitments nowhere<\/h2>\n\n

The latest draft of the UN Tax Convention includes articles on sustainable development and taxing high-net-worth individuals (HNWI). That\u2019s good news. A few years ago, neither would even have made it into the room.<\/p>\n\n

But here\u2019s the catch: they\u2019re still written mostly as \u2018principles\u2019, not commitments.<\/p>\n\n

The sustainable development article remains declaratory. It acknowledges that tax cooperation should support social, economic and environmental goals, without spelling out how, or what kinds of mechanisms would be needed to deliver them. No change to this article since the Terms of Reference were set out.<\/p>\n\n

The article on high-net-worth individuals has improved on paper (it uses \u2018shall\u2019 instead of \u2018agree\u2019 now)<\/em>, but still stops short of what\u2019s actually needed to tax extreme wealth effectively and fairly.<\/p>\n\n

In short: governments agree that something should happen, but appear reluctant when it comes to the details of how to actually make it happen. That\u2019s like agreeing to catch smugglers, but banning customs from opening the luggage.<\/p>\n\n

The paradox no one wants to name<\/h2>\n\n

This is where things get awkward.<\/p>\n\n

In other international forums (COP30, G20, FfD4 to name a few examples), many of the same governments are already making much bolder statements. For example:<\/p>\n\n