Nairobi, Kenya – Hundreds of volunteers from Greenpeace Africa formed a giant human banner in the shape of the African continent and displayed a printed message that read ‘Tax the Super-rich for People and Planet’ to demand urgent tax reform at UN Tax Convention negotiations.
The gathering welcomed negotiations in Nairobi at the UN Tax Convention (UNTC), calling for action to deliver much needed additional public finance for climate mitigation, nature protection and sustainable development by making billionaires and oil and gas corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
Nina Stros, policy expert at Greenpeace International and head of the Greenpeace delegation, said: “The current global tax system is outdated and unjust, allowing the super-rich and polluting oil and gas corporations to profit while avoiding paying their fair share and fuelling the climate crisis through their excessive emissions. This has to change.
“Governments must deliver strong commitments with clear mechanisms to tax polluting billionaires and corporations. These changes will benefit the majority of the world’s countries, from the least developed economies to those with high socioeconomic indicators in the Global North. Instead of pursuing a race to the bottom with continuous lowering of corporate tax rates, it’s time governments unite to usher in new global tax rules that will finally hold these super rich individuals and polluting corporations to account.”
The UNTC’s third round of negotiations (INC-3) in Nairobi, 10-19 November, coincides with COP30 in Belém, Brazil, where countries are debating how to bridge the 1.5°C ambition gap, ending forest destruction and who picks up the tab for international climate finance. Tangible plans are urgently needed to deliver on the COP29 finance commitment for developed countries to mobilise at least US $300 billion per year by 2035, and to scale up to at least US$1.3 trillion in public finance in line with needs. The UNTC provides a critical opportunity to unlock the public finance that is required, through increasing taxes on the super-rich and increasing profit taxes on polluting oil and gas corporations.[1]
Fred Njehu, Fair Share Global Political Lead, Greenpeace Africa, said: “The world is not a billionaire’s playground, for them to get richer at the expense of our health, security and democracy. Governments must act now to stop the super-rich stashing billions in tax havens, and to put an end to polluting corporations paying too little tax, depriving people of vital public finances. It’s time to implement global taxes on billionaires and the profits of oil and gas corporations – and direct these funds to sustainable development, public services, and tackling the climate and ecological crisis.”
Murtala Touray, Programme Director at Greenpeace Africa, said: “The tax negotiations in Nairobi come at a pivotal moment to fix a global economic system so that it serves all nations, and not just a few rich countries. The Africa Group initiated this process to forge a new, legally binding UN tax convention that addresses systemic inequalities in global finance and governance. These injustices are preventing many countries of the Global South from raising revenues that could support better public services, climate mitigation and adaptation and nature protection. Africa is calling for a clear path to tax justice – a commitment to sustainable development rooted in fair taxation of corporations and high-net-worth individuals. Because tax justice isn’t charity, it’s a fundamental right and the essence of our sovereignty.”
Key figures:
It is estimated that countries lose US$492 billion annually because multinational corporations and the ultra-wealthy use tax havens to underpay tax.[2]
Profit shifting in extractive industries (oil, gas, mining) leads to governments reportedly losing at least US$44 billion per year in tax revenues.[3]
Oxfam estimates that permanent polluter profits tax on oil and gas corporations could raise up to US$400 billion in its first year. [4]
Reported profits from just five international oil and gas giants over the last decade reached almost US$800 billion, and half of the world’s CO2 emissions reportedly come from just 36 fossil fuel firms.[5][6]
A tax of up to 5% on multimillionaires and billionaires could generate US$1.7 trillion a year, according to Oxfam.[7]
Greenpeace’s demands for negotiators at INC-3 are:
Effective taxation of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs): Introduce and implement progressively higher rates for billionaires with revenues earmarked for sustainable development and investment in public services as well as direct climate and nature investments.
Progressive environmental taxation: Secure a commitment for international cooperation to deliver progressive environmental taxation in line with the polluter pays principle and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC), covering both polluting corporations and HNWIs, to unlock more public finance for climate action and sustainable development.
Polluter tax on fossil fuel company profits: Tax the global profits of multinational oil, coal, and gas and other polluting companies, directing revenues to multilateral climate funds, so that the communities who are most vulnerable and least responsible for climate damages get the support they deserve.
A Greenpeace delegation participated in the first two consecutive rounds of global tax talks in August in New York (INC-1 & 2), and will be present at INC-3 in Nairobi, Kenya.
[1] New global tax rules in an UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation are being negotiated until 2027. It aims to take control of global tax rules from the rich OECD countries and place it in the hands of the 193 member states of the United Nations.
The Rainbow Warrior heads to COP30 in Brazil, cartoon animals run wild in the Swedish forest, and a giant climate receipt appears in Acapulco. Here are a few highlights from Greenpeace work around the world this week.
Germany – A few days before the start of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), 14 Greenpeace activists staged a demonstration with a projection on Germany’s tallest building, the Berlin TV Tower. Using several projectors, the environmentalists transformed the striking silver sphere 200 meters above the ground into a burning globe. They project the appeal “Act Now!” onto the shaft of the tower. It is also directed at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), who will speak before the official start of the UN conference in Belém, Brazil.
Sweden – The artist and illustrator Marc “UÅ” Strömberg has, in collaboration with Greenpeace, installed unique artworks in a forest threatened by logging south of Vängel in Jämtland. The installation takes place in connection with the Swedish Environmental Court issuing a temporary ban on forestry giant SCA’s logging in the area. The artworks depict a collection of colourful forest creatures affected by the forest destruction, who have come to defend their home, they are a tribute to the activism and resistance against SCA’s unsustainable forestry.
Brazil – Carrying the message “Action, Justice and Hope” on its mast, Greenpeace’s iconic activist ship, the Rainbow Warrior, arrived in Belém, Pará, to mark its presence during the United Nations Climate Conference, COP30.
Brazil – Chief Megaron Txucarramãe, leader of the Kayapó people, looks through binoculars on the bridge of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, now in Belém during the United Nations Climate Conference, COP30.
Mexico – In Acapulco, Greenpeace Mexico unfolded a giant receipt to show the true cost of the climate crisis being paid by people, while the government continues to allocate public funds to fossil fuel megaprojects that worsen the problem. The ticket displays an alarming figure: 177 billion pesos, the estimated amount of damages caused by extreme weather events in Mexico over the past decade.
France – A pyramid of barrels from which green ‘pesticide’ flows has been installed on the Esplanade des Invalides in Paris. A bucket filled with a viscous green liquid hangs above it. Emmanuel Macron was asked three questions about the EU-Mercosur agreement. After three wrong answers… Splash!
Brazil – As French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron was passing the Rainbow Warrior on his way to the COP30 convention in Belém, Greenpeace displayed a banner reading “MACRON: GOOD COP OR BAD COP?” to challenge the French President on the stance France intends to take at this COP30, which also marks the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement.
USA – Anti-Trump Protests in Washington D.C., marking a year since his re-election to the United States presidency.
Greenpeace has been a pioneer of photo activism for more than 50 years, and remains committed to bearing witness and exposing environmental injustice through the images we capture.
To see more Greenpeace photos and videos, visit our Media Library.
Belém, Brazil – Greenpeace recognises the launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) as a step towards ending deforestation, but gaps remain for the TFFF to become a credible financial instrument for the protection of high-integrity tropical forests. Greenpeace calls on world governments to continue improving the TFFF and to agree on an action plan at COP30 to deliver transformative forest protection.
Carolina Pasquali, Executive Director, Greenpeace Brazil said: “The launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility is an important milestone for the protection of the world’s tropical forests. The mechanism can and should be improved to address some of its gaps, however, it is a step in the right direction as it values forests standing and guarantees direct access to resources to Indigenous Peoples and local communities. As deforestation rates in the Amazon continue to decrease – 11% compared to the previous period, 50% compared to 2022, Brazil is in a unique position to build on the momentum and pave the way for parties at COP30 to deliver a global action plan to end deforestation and forest degradation by 2030. But we will only achieve that if other countries step up and do their part.”
Progress and Gaps in the TFFF
The latest version of the TFFF has shown improvements, such as stronger transparency measures to allocate forest payments. The recognition of the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPs&LCs) and their need for direct access to finance sets an important precedent for COP30 finance negotiations, through the inclusion of a mandatory 20% direct allocation of finance to IPs&LCs.
However, to deliver its full potential, the TFFF must still address significant issues. With the threshold for forest cover eligibility set at a 20–30% canopy cover, high-integrity forests risk being degraded or logged and still qualify for payments. Moreover, degradation monitoring focuses only on fire scars, excluding other drivers such as logging and fragmentation. Meanwhile the current exclusion list to prevent harmful industries from being eligible for investments is insufficient.
The TFFF financing model and accountability mechanisms must also be strengthened. Instead of prioritising paying sponsors and investors first, the system should ensure equitable and timely payments to tropical forest countries and IPs&LCs. As the Facility is dependent on the volatility of global markets, the TFFF funding and the allocation of the resources by tropical forest countries must be critically scrutinised to ensure forest protection funds are stable and reliable, especially for IPs&LCs. Additionally, any contributions to the TFFF should not count towards the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), nor should it divert any resources already allocated to other climate and biodiversity action.
Belém, Brazil – Greenpeace has called on world leaders meeting at the Climate Summit in Belém to send a clear signal to delegates at COP30 that the time has come to bridge the 1.5°C ambition gap.
Carolina Pasquali, Greenpeace COP30 Head of Delegation and Executive Director, Greenpeace Brasil said: “We’re on the brink of climate tipping points and the potential loss of the Amazon, so this COP simply must deliver the urgent change needed. There’s no second chance and it starts with the leaders, who must give COP30 a clear mandate to close the 1.5°C ambition gap.”
“Brazil invited the world to Belém, to witness the challenges and opportunities of a COP on the frontlines of climate change and forest loss. It is also where we have the solutions and the knowledge of Indigenous Peoples to change our future. Together with communities and people, we are here to ensure leaders feel the heat and pressure – symbolically and literally – in order to act now, eliminate fossil fuel use and end forest destruction. It starts here in Belém.”
In Belém at COP30, Greenpeace is calling for:[1]
A Global Response Plan to address the 1.5°C ambition gap and accelerate emissions reductions in this critical decade
A new, dedicated 5-year Forest Action Plan to end deforestation by 2030
Progress on public climate finance from developed countries, including polluter-pays taxation to support mitigation, adaptation and action to address loss and damage in developing countries
Even before the Leaders Summit, however, the EU proposed to cut emissions by 90% including offsets by 2040 compared to 1990, a climate target that falls significantly short of even the minimum that the EU’s own scientific advisers have called for.[2]
Jean-François Julliard, Executive Director, Greenpeace France said: “Urgent action is needed, not ongoing talks or watered down targets. The time to ramp up action and ambition is now, and the EU needs to set the tone in Belém for COP30 to reach the outcome the world needs.”
“As historical emitters and in the Paris Agreement anniversary year, the spotlight is squarely on both France and the EU to lead from the front. Every EU leader is on notice: the 1.5°C limit is severely under threat and a potential overshoot looms. To President Macron and the EU, it’s your move next and only a global response plan will suffice.”
Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific, Greenpeace Australia Pacific said: “As our leaders meet in Belém, we ask them not to lose sight of the 1.5°C limit. 1.5°C is not just a figure; it’s a lifeline for Pacific communities and climate-vulnerable nations facing profound threats to our livelihoods, cultures, our very existence. The legal, moral, and political responsibility for climate action has never been stronger and the ambition leaders take to Belém will define its success.”
“Governments are on notice after the Pacific-led climate victory at the International Court of Justice that delivered a clear message: countries are legally obliged to keep the world within 1.5°C, and more legal challenges will be coming if we continue down the path of fossil fuels.[3]”
“There must be no more free passes or subsidies for the fossil fuel industry or its billionaire backers driving the climate crisis. We urge leaders to act with courage and set a new course for our planet with renewed hope, and a commitment to justice and humanity above profit.”
Ahead of COP30, Greenpeace is calling on governments to turn promises into action through an ambitious forest and climate agenda that puts people, justice, and the planet first. Here’s what we are fighting for in Belém and beyond.
1. A global forest action plan to end deforestation and ecosystem collapse
2. A robust response to the 1.5°C ambition gap, including a fast and fair transition away from fossil fuels
The latest Emissions Gap Report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) finds that new national climate pledges under the Paris Agreement have only slightly lowered projected temperature rise this century — leaving the world on track for around 2.3–2.5°C of warming. The report compares countries’ commitments with what’s needed to stay below the 1.5°C limit, based on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs, the official emission-reduction plans each country submits under the Paris Agreement).
The fossil fuel industry is the main driver of the climate crisis. Around the world, communities are facing an escalating wave of extreme weather disasters, including longer heatwaves, record floods, devastating storms and uncontrolled wildfires. These events are destroying lives, homes and ecosystems, and the science leaves no doubt that fossil fuels are the cause.
The only way to respect the 1.5°C limit is through deep, rapid and equitable reductions in fossil fuel use, ending deforestation and ecosystem loss and by ensuring Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ rights are guaranteed and their solutions are supported.
3. Climate finance and accountability: make polluters pay
Communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis are suffering devastating impacts while major polluters continue to profit. Climate justice requires that those most responsible pay their fair share – from oil and gas corporations to billionaires. Greenpeace is calling for new and additional public climate finance for adaptation, emission reduction, and to address loss and damage. Wealthy developed nations must finally deliver on their long-promised financial commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Greenpeace also demands accountability from fossil fuel and agribusiness corporations whose emissions are driving the crisis. Governments must introduce taxes on corporate polluters to fund recovery efforts and climate solutions.
Indigenous leadership is key to keeping forests standing and sustaining the planet’s biodiversity and climate. Recognising and securing Indigenous land rights, knowledge and expertise is essential to protecting critical ecosystems. At COP30, Greenpeace will work alongside Indigenous leaders to call for that recognition and for stronger protection from violence and persecution.
A turning point for people and planet
COP30 must deliver a breakthrough that unites climate and forest action. It is the moment for governments to commit to ending deforestation, phasing out fossil fuels, ensuring climate finance, and protecting those who defend life on Earth.
From Belém to the world, Greenpeace will continue to push for a liveable planet where justice, biodiversity and climate stability prevail. The limit is 1.5°C, a boundary we must not cross.
Fossil gas is an expensive and dangerous trap. It fuels the climate crisis, keeps Europe dependent on autocrats and bullies like Putin and Trump, and drives up energy bills for families. Europe doesn’t need more fossil gas terminals, drilling projects or pipelines. What we need is a fast and fair shift to renewable energy and real energy independence.
That’s why Greenpeace organisations across Europe took action this year: protesting, blocking and demonstrating against fossil gas infrastructure from Spain to Belgium, from Italy to Poland. Together, they connected local fights into an international movement, sending a clear message: wherever corporations and complicit governments try to expand fossil gas, they will meet resistance.
The Journey
Spain: Standing up to Russian gas
The tour kicked off in Avilés, where the Arctic Sunrise opened its decks to the public and joined local activists to protest the arrival of a Russian liquified gas (LNG) shipment.
Belgium: Exposing the LNG trap
Next stop: Belgium, where activists protested the arrival of Russian and US LNG tankers carrying dirty fossil gas to Europe. The port of Zeebrugge is one of Europe’s main gas import hubs, making it a symbol of Europe’s dangerous fossil gas dependency, and the activists made it clear that neither Russian nor US gas is welcome here.
In Venice, hundreds of locals and tourists joined the open boat days as the ship docked in the historic city. Soon after, Greenpeace Italy led an action at the new Ravenna LNG terminal, exposing Prime Minister Meloni’s toxic plan to import even more US fracked gas.
In Pula, Greenpeace Croatia activists climbed up a 135-metre fossil gas platform to demand an end to new gas projects. The team also visited the sunken drilling platform Ivana D to expose the dangers and pollution the gas industry leaves behind.
Fossil gas, oil, and coal are fuelling this heat. We must stop using fuels that endanger lives.That’s why Greenpeace activists from 6 countries protested today at a jack-up platform in Pula, Croatia.Renewables are the future. Sign:www.greenpeace.org/internationa… #StopFossilGas
In Heraklion and Volos, people came aboard to learn how fossil gas threatens their coasts and climate. Between the open boat events, Greenpeace Greece led an action at the Alexandroupolis LNG terminal, standing with communities resisting yet another destructive gas project.
In autumn, the Arctic Sunrise went up north to the Baltic Sea where Greenpeace Poland activists dove 50 meters down to the Nord Stream pipelines. Designed to transport Russian gas to Europe, these pipelines are currently inactive. Yet, Europe is still buying gas from Putin’s regime, fueling Russia’s war on Ukraine. The activists sent a clear message: Europe must stop importing Russian gas, whether through pipelines or LNG tankers.
After an open boat event on the Arctic Sunrise in Stralsund (Baltic Sea), the ship tour continued on the Greenpeace sail ship Witness. On the North Sea island of Borkum, actor Philip Froissant and political content creator Fabian Grishkat met with local communities and travelled to the nearby gas fields. Opening new gas drilling sites in the middle of the climate crisis is a reckless political choice that people on Borkum have opposed for years.
The fossil-free ship tour ended with a bold action in Belgium’s LNG hub, Zeebrugge. Greenpeace activists from across Europe blocked the terminal on board the Witness and with dozens of kayaks. At least two LNG ships were delayed or had to change course. It was a powerful finale that sent a clear message: the fossil gas era must end.
The resistance keeps growing and so does hope. Renewables are the way out of Europe’s fossil fuel dependency. They are the key to affordable energy for families, a safer planet, and a livable future for our children.
Join this vision of a fossil-free future and sign the open letter now.
Belém, Brazil – The long-awaited release of the ‘Baku to Belém Roadmap to US 1.3 trillion’ for climate finance has not pushed forward the accountability of developed countries to deliver promised public finance for climate action in developing countries.
Carolina Pasquali, Executive Director, Greenpeace Brasil: “The inequalities left behind by the inadequate climate finance goal agreed at COP29 have not been resolved with this roadmap – we still need significantly more public finance for mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage.”
“While the roadmap rightly recognises the gap in concessional finance, including for nature and providing direct access to Indigenous Peoples and local communities, it does not go far enough in holding developed countries accountable. We still need to see the money for real support to developing countries if we are serious about climate justice.”
Agreed at last year’s UN Climate Conference (COP29), the Baku to Belem Roadmap is an initiative overseen by the COP29 and COP30 presidencies – Azerbaijan and Brazil – to develop a concrete pathway for ‘scaling up’ to at least USD 1.3 trillion annually in climate finance for developing countries by 2035.
The roadmap is supposed to detail strategies to increase climate finance to developing countries to support low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development pathways and implement the climate action plans (NDCs) and national adaptation plans.
Rebecca Newsom, Global Political Expert, Greenpeace International said: “It’s notable that the Roadmap recognises new taxes and levies as key to unlocking public climate finance. Given reported profits from just five international oil and gas giants over the last decade reached almost US$ 800 billion, taxing fossil fuel corporations is clearly a huge opportunity to overcome national fiscal constraints.
“The roadmap’s recognition that the UN tax convention provides an opportunity to raise new sources of concessional climate finance is also highly welcome, and is an opportunity governments must now seize. ”
“Governments must now build on the roadmap through an agenda item at COP30 that drives forward tangible action on public international climate finance, while sending a powerful signal that they are ready to make polluters pay for the climate damages they have caused.”
Belém, Brazil – Carrying on its mast the message “Action, Justice, Hope,” Greenpeace’s iconic ship, the Rainbow Warrior, arrived in Belém, Pará, ahead of the United Nations Climate Conference COP30. At this critical moment for the planet, the ship returns to the Amazon alongside Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and social movements to urge global leaders to adopt ambitious climate targets, end global deforestation by 2030, and advance a just energy transition.
Carolina Pasquali, Executive Director, Greenpeace Brazil said: ““The Rainbow Warrior arrives in Belém carrying the courage that drives Greenpeace’s activist actions, joining organisations, peoples, and social movements at COP30. The real solutions to the climate crisis already exist. They are in the forest, in the Indigenous territories, and in the wisdom of forest peoples. This must be heard and taken into account by leaders at COP30, who bear the responsibility to turn hope into action.”
On board the Rainbow Warrior, holding banners calling for respect for the Amazon, were Brazilian Indigenous leaders, including Dinamam Tuxá, Executive Coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB); Chief Megaron Txucarramãe of the Kayapó People; Angela Kaxuyana, Representative of the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB); and Carolina Pasquali, Executive Director of Greenpeace Brazil.
Dinamam Tuxá, Executive Coordinator, Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB): “The arrival of the Rainbow Warrior in the Amazon, at this historic moment of COP30, symbolises the union between global struggles and ancestral ones. Indigenous Peoples are here to remind the world that there is no climate justice without justice in the Indigenous territories. We are the guardians of the biomes, the waters, and biodiversity, and it is time for governments to listen and act alongside us — with courage and a real commitment to the planet’s future.”
Angela Kaxuyana, Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB) said:“We arrived at COP30 with a clear message: there is no possible future without Indigenous Peoples at the center of global discussions. Addressing the climate crisis requires recognising, guaranteeing, and protecting Indigenous territories, as well as acknowledging the contributions of Indigenous Peoples to maintaining climate balance. We are the answer!”
Chief Megaron Txucarramãe of the Kayapó People said: “Our presence at COP30 represents the unity of Indigenous Peoples for life on the planet. We unite to guarantee a future for the next generations. What we want to show at COP30 is that we, the Indigenous Peoples, are truly responsible for keeping the Amazon and other biomes standing. Indigenous lands are the most effective solution to protect nature and face the climate crisis.”
“Leaders attending COP30 must advance simultaneously on the elimination of fossil fuels and the protection of forests, while ensuring adequate public climate finance for developing countries. That is why, in Belém, Greenpeace will urge global leaders to ensure that COP30 ends with an action plan to end forest destruction by 2030 , and to accelerate a just energy transition away from fossil fuels. Connecting these two agendas—and ensuring respect for Indigenous Peoples and local communities—is urgent. It is what can make COP30 the conference that kept the 1.5°C goal alive” explained Carolina Pasquali.
After anchoring at the UFPA port, Greenpeace will hold a press conference on board to present its expectations and demands for COP30.
Just five international oil and gas giants – ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and TotalEnergies – are responsible for over $5 trillion in projected climate damages based on their emissions since the Paris Agreement was adopted (between 2016 and 2025).
That’s the shocking finding from experts from Stanford and Delaware universities, who used the social cost of carbon methodology, alongside emissions data from the Carbon Majors Database. 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.
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’s emissions over the last decade are responsible for.
We’re 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.
Using this calculation, alongside representative examples sourced from the International Disaster Database EM-DAT of some of the most extreme weather events to hit the world over the past 10 years, Greenpeace International has designed a Polluters’ Climate Bill addressed to the fossil fuel industry.
The Polluters’ Climate Bill is travelling around the world – from Climate Week in New York, to Africa Energy Week in Cape Town, Total Energies’ office in Copenhagen, the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage meeting in Pasay City, Piazza di Spagna in Rome, Altadena in California, the UN Tax Convention negotiations in Nairobi, and COP30 in Belém. Its purpose is to send a simple message to politicians: it is time to make the fossil fuel industry pay up.
The case for making polluters pay
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 ‘developed countries’ to mobilise at least US $300 billion per year by 2035 for ‘developing countries.’
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.
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 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$44 billion. Governments are also giving out subsidies for fossil fuel production to the tune of billions of dollars per year. This completely undermines efforts to deliver a global fossil fuel phaseout.
There’s no shortage of cash, given reported profits from ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and TotalEnergies alone amounted to almost US$ 800 billion over the last 10 years. This is a matter of political will. That’s why Greenpeace is calling for ambitious taxes on the biggest corporate polluters and the super-rich to unlock the funding that’s urgently needed and speed up an equitable global fossil fuel phaseout.
Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s a snapshot of the growing political pressure for action:
The International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on climate changeconcluded that governments must use all policy tools available to them, including taxes, to ensure that the most polluting corporations, such as fossil fuel companies, align their activities with limiting global warming to 1.5ºC and are held to account for their contribution to climate change.
The 4th UN Financing for Development conference outcomecommitted to ‘promote progressive tax systems,’ ‘encourage effective taxation of natural resources,’ and promote ‘taxes on environmental contamination and pollution.’
38 former world leaderssigned a letter calling for permanent polluter profit taxes on high-emitting industries like the fossil fuel industry to deliver climate justice.
The Africa Group, France, Germany, Kenya, Morocco, Spain and Vanuatu, have spoken out in support of this agenda via their consultation submissions for the UN Tax Convention and the UNFCCC Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3 Trillion.
8 in 10 people support taxing oil and gas corporations to pay for climate damages, according to a global survey across 13 countries.
Priorities for policymakers
Greenpeace is calling on world leaders and negotiators at COP30 and the UN Tax Convention to urgently act on the following:
Within climate finance outcomes at COP30: support progressive environmental taxation in line with the Polluter Pays Principle and the Principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC), in the context of innovative sources of public finance. Ensure there is space under any climate finance (NCQG) agenda item to advance these mechanisms.
Global Solidarity Levies Taskforce: ensure that the taskforce’s COP30 commitments publicly endorse bold global fossil fuel profit taxation for international climate finance under the UN Tax Convention, alongside bolder fossil fuel profit taxes and extraction levies at the national and regional levels to help communities at home and around the world rebuild from climate disasters and invest in climate solutions.
Under the UN Tax Convention: support bold commitments on progressive environmental taxation in line with the Polluter Pays Principle and CBDR-RC, and on the effective taxation of high net worth individuals, in line with their ecological debt. Revenues from both commitments should go towards multilateral climate action and sustainable development. Also support the creation of an international Polluter Pays tax on the global profits of highly polluting industries, beginning with fossil fuel companies, channeling revenues from this mechanism towards existing UN climate funds to ensure the countries and communities least responsible for the climate crisis receive support to build resilience.
The fossil fuel industry and other major polluters driving the climate crisis must be held financially accountable for harm caused. COP30 and the UN Tax Convention must take decisive action: it’s time to make polluters pay.
Amsterdam, Netherlands – Greenpeace demands world leaders agree on a global response plan at COP30 as a new major UN report warned the global temperature is projected to rise to 2.3-2.5°C above pre-industrial era global temperatures, putting the Paris Agreement limit of 1.5°C at risk in the short-term.
The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2025 warned the world is heading towards “a serious escalation of climate risks and damages” due to a lack of ambition and action, and reports the multi-decadal average of global temperature rise will exceed 1.5°C, at least temporarily, requiring faster and bigger cuts in emissions to minimise the overshoot.[1]
Jasper Inventor, Deputy Programme Director, Greenpeace International said: “How many warnings do we need? The time is now, but our leaders are asleep at the wheel, on a collision course to more devastating storms like Hurricane Melissa, human suffering, economic damages and climate injustice.”
“Warnings of a 1.5°C overshoot must be a rallying call for action and yet 2035 climate action plans have failed to bridge the ambition gap. We’re still only inching forward on cutting our emissions despite the demands of people and communities around the world.”
“We have the renewable energy solutions and we are making progress, but emissions are still rising, the transition away from fossil fuels is too slow, and national climate action plans are barely moving the needle. It’s time for G20 countries, above all developed countries, to grab the wheel and really lead the transition, starting at COP30, where a global response plan to accelerate action must be agreed.”[2]
The Emissions Gap Report 2025 predicted global temperatures to reach 2.3-2.5°C by the end of the century, down from 2.6-2.8°C last year. Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement 10 years ago, temperature predictions have fallen from 3-3.5°C, but faster action is required.
Similar to the UNFCCC’s NDC synthesis report, the UNEP also warned new 2035 climate action plans will have insufficient impact in reducing emissions, especially due to the intended US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, and called on G20 nations to display climate leadership.[3]
Germany – A few days before the start of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), 14 Greenpeace activists staged a demonstration with a projection on Germany’s tallest building, the Berlin TV Tower. Using several projectors, the environmentalists transformed the striking silver sphere 200 meters above the ground into a burning globe. They project the appeal “Act Now!” onto the shaft of the tower. It is also directed at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), who will speak before the official start of the UN conference in Belém, Brazil.
Sweden – The artist and illustrator Marc “UÅ” Strömberg has, in collaboration with Greenpeace, installed unique artworks in a forest threatened by logging south of Vängel in Jämtland. The installation takes place in connection with the Swedish Environmental Court issuing a temporary ban on forestry giant SCA’s logging in the area. The artworks depict a collection of colourful forest creatures affected by the forest destruction, who have come to defend their home, they are a tribute to the activism and resistance against SCA’s unsustainable forestry.
Brazil – Carrying the message “Action, Justice and Hope” on its mast, Greenpeace’s iconic activist ship, the Rainbow Warrior, arrived in Belém, Pará, to mark its presence during the United Nations Climate Conference, COP30.
Mexico – In Acapulco, Greenpeace Mexico unfolded a giant receipt to show the true cost of the climate crisis being paid by people, while the government continues to allocate public funds to fossil fuel megaprojects that worsen the problem. The ticket displays an alarming figure: 177 billion pesos, the estimated amount of damages caused by extreme weather events in Mexico over the past decade. 
France – A pyramid of barrels from which green ‘pesticide’ flows has been installed on the Esplanade des Invalides in Paris. A bucket filled with a viscous green liquid hangs above it. Emmanuel Macron was asked three questions about the EU-Mercosur agreement. After three wrong answers… Splash!
USA – Anti-Trump Protests in Washington D.C., marking a year since his re-election to the United States presidency.
Respect the Amazon
Polluters Pay Pact
We must stop using fuels that endanger lives.That’s why Greenpeace activists from 6 countries protested today at a jack-up platform in Pula, Croatia.Renewables are the future.
Sign:www.greenpeace.org/internationa… #StopFossilGas
(@greenpeace.org) 2025-07-04T11:30:11.070Z
Ban new fossil fuel projects
