WTF? This is the question that ECO has been asking for the past 50 years since it was born – where is the finance! While it started with asks for more development aid, these days it’s about financing efforts of vulnerable countries on mitigation and adaptation. And if you think it will get better, tell us – where is the US$100 billion that was committed in Copenhagen 2009 and Cancun 2010?
Guess what the latest excuse for this failure is? Rising inflation resulting from Russian aggression. Oh, please! Do you remember your past excuses? That you had budgeted already; or there are no bankable projects; or there is corruption; lack of governance, etc. But the honest and brutal truth is that they just do not want to collectively pay. At best, they propose to ‘rob from Peter to pay Paul’. Who said this money has to come from existing taxes or existing budgets from the rich nations?
ECO is not as shy as our finance ministers. And because ECO is also generous, here are our 4 novel finance options that the ministers can think about as they leave the COP in the next few days.
First, tax the super profits of the ~50 largest multilateral coal, oil, and gas companies. It is estimated that this years profits, not turnover, of these planetary super-destroyers might be up to $250 bn. A 20% tax would provide $50bn (Well, given their environmental crimes, ECO would not mind a tax rate of 50% and more. But let’s stay moderate for the start).
Second, implement an annually rising energy content (rather than on carbon) levy at the point of upstream mining of fossil fuels. To give you a flavour: with present oil prices hovering around $90-$100 per barrel and the world producing about 100bn barrels per day, one could generate ~$35bn per year if a 1% levy is raised. Such a levy would be far below the erratically occurring oil price roller coaster over the year. Next, add a 1% levy on coal and gas (per barrel of energy content) and we arrive at ~USD 80b (ECO would love to see a much higher fee, but as mentioned above, we start somewhere…)
Third, allocate a recovered tax to climate finance. The UN estimated in July that countries were losing about $483bn annually through tax evasion into tax havens. If only 10% of that recovered cash is earmarked for climate finance, it will generate almost $50bn per year.
Fourth, domestic wealth taxes. Global billionaires have a combined wealth estimated at more than $9tn (and this is not accounting for millionaires’ wealth). A 1% wealth tax rate would generate about $85bn annually. Do you remember the French movie titled “Eat the rich”? Well, here we go!
One could also add a Robin Hood tax on financial transactions.
Governments, do your job; for social healing, equity, international climate justice and solidarity!