Here are seven controversial treasures that could save the planet

ENVIRONMENT

Global taxes could be used to pay for the expensive climate investments required to keep the climate in check. Here are seven controversial treasures that could save the planet.

Money is central to this year’s climate summit COP29 in Baku. In order to pay for poor countries’ climate investments, it is estimated that at least one trillion dollars is needed annually – some estimate that the figure is even higher. In addition to grants and loans from individual countries and, for example, the EU, various taxes and fees could pay for the projects.

– This type of discussion would have been completely taboo just five years ago. At least now they are happening, says Katherine Brown, researcher at the Stockholm Environment Institute, who does not expect a breakthrough at this year’s climate meeting, however.

Here are some of the suggestions:

1. Fossil tax

Several different fees can be imposed on the oil, coal and gas companies. You can imagine a price for what is taken out of the ground – high taxes or a minimum corporate tax.

– It is based on a ‘polluter pays’ principle, says Duncan Moss of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force (GSLTF), a coalition led by France, Kenya and Barbados which is investigating several levies.

An expense on every barrel of oil, ton of coal or cubic liter of gas, for example, could lead to 210 billion dollars annually in revenue.

2. Shipping tax

Work is already in full swing within the international maritime organization IMO to introduce a carbon dioxide fee, where each ton of emissions costs a certain amount. Such a fee would raise $127 billion annually – more than rich countries currently give to poor ones in climate finance.

3. Tax on financial transactions

Several countries in the world have taxes on financial transactions, so-called FTT. A proposal is 0.1 percent on all share and fund trading and 0.01 percent on derivatives. It could bring in hundreds of billions of dollars annually. A 2019 estimate landed at around $327 billion.

– You build on an existing precedent in areas that are currently undertaxed, says Moss.

4. Flight tax

The proposal from the GSLTF targets fuel, with an extra surcharge on luxury tickets, private jets and those who travel a lot. An aviation tax could raise between $19 billion and $164 billion, depending on how it is implemented. In Sweden, there is already an aviation tax, which the government has chosen to abolish from the middle of next year.

5. Plastic tax

In 2021, the EU introduced a plastic tax on non-recycled plastic packaging. It pulled in 7.2 billion euros last year. GSLTF states that a production tax of $60-$90 per ton could raise upwards of $35 billion annually.

6. Crypto tax

The creation of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin is energy intensive. According to the IMF, a tax of 0.089 dollars per kilowatt hour could reduce both emissions from the sector and raise 5.2 billion dollars annually.

7. Billionaires tax

A wealth tax on the world’s richest dollar billionaires of 2 percent could generate $250 billion annually, and is something Brazil proposed this summer. The tax would affect around 3,000 people worldwide.