Slash Oil Subsidies, Tax the Rich to Unlock $5 Trillion Annually for Climate Action: Study

A study released on Tuesday suggests that affluent nations could generate over $5 trillion each year for global climate initiatives by ending subsidies for the oil and gas sectors, instituting a tax on major polluters, and intensifying efforts to curb tax evasion by large corporations and wealthy individuals.

The report from Oil Change International (OCI) was unveiled as global leaders convened in New York City for the high-level talks at the United Nations General Assembly, occurring just weeks before the COP29 climate summit set to take place in Azerbaijan.

OCI’s study includes a detailed fact sheet that presents several strategies for accumulating funds for climate efforts, emphasizing that “ample public funds are available for affluent nations to contribute their fair share to climate action both domestically and internationally.”

“The pressing issues of economic inequality, unfair debt crises among sovereign nations, climate-related disasters, and the profits from fossil fuels are driving strong momentum towards these financial measures at both international and national policy levels,” states the OCI research brief. “Finance has been a central theme in most significant international political discussions recently, acknowledging that our present financial system significantly contributes to these intersecting crises.”

OCI’s brief outlines several funding proposals including the termination of “public financing, direct subsidies, and investments by state-owned enterprises in fossil fuels,” which could generate $846 billion annually worldwide; a “climate damages tax” on the extraction of fossil fuels, potentially raising $618 billion each year; a 25% minimum corporate tax rate, which could yield $479 billion annually; and a wealth tax on billionaires, estimated to generate approximately $2.60 trillion annually in the Global North and over $5.6 trillion globally.

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Laurie van der Burg, leading OCI’s public finance efforts, stated that the wealthy nations most culpable in the climate crisis “are indebted to the Global South countries, which have not precipitated this crisis and require equitable financial resources to implement robust climate strategies next year that include phasing out fossil fuels.”

“This is crucial to prevent a climate catastrophe and to save lives,” she further emphasized.

The upcoming COP29 climate summit follows the agreement at last year’s COP28 to move “away from fossil fuels in energy systems” in a “just, orderly, and equitable manner.”

OCI indicates that the success of this commitment depends heavily on wealthy nations significantly contributing to global climate finance, after years of not fulfilling their financial pledges and continuing to expand fossil fuel extraction and subsidies. A recent report reveals that environmentally harmful subsidies, including those for fossil fuels, have skyrocketed to $2.6 trillion annually.

“Global North countries must reallocate their portion of these subsidies to support climate action,” OCI stated on Tuesday.

This new report arrives after a record-hot summer and amidst severe extreme weather events, from extensive flooding across Europe and Africa to raging wildfires in South America.

Andreas Sieber, associate director of policy and campaigns at 350.org, commented on Tuesday that “the real dilemma is not about the availability of funds to act, but the consequences of inaction.”

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“It’s ironically sad that while wealthy nations plead fiscal prudence, they still lavish trillions on fossil fuel subsidies and military endeavors,” Sieber noted. “The reality is clear: the funds are there, but the political resolve is lacking. By treating climate finance as a finite game, affluent countries not only exacerbate global inequality but also jeopardize their own futures.”

“The energy transition is not charity—it’s an investment in global stability and security,” Sieber concluded. “Ignoring the need for support only exacerbates the climate crisis, which respects no national boundaries.”

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