Three renown non-governmental organizations, ICCCAD, the Innovative Finance Foundation, and Oxford Climate Policy, have joined forces to propose the use of “International Climate Solidarity Levies”. Their initiative demonstrates how levies can be developed to mobilize funding for the new Loss & Damage Response Fund.
With climate change causing loss and damage to societies around the world, the Loss and Damage Response Fund established last year at the UN climate summit, COP27, intends to address the plight of the most vulnerable.
Given the urgency to provide financial support to the poorest and most vulnerable countries to respond to climate induced loss and damage and given the current global economic and fiscal situation, it is difficult to see how the new fund could get adequately capitalized without
diverting funds from other existing multilateral climate funds.
A levy could for example be added to airline tickets, as already being applied in France. Such an air levy in EU could mobilize 1 bn Euro, which could help people and communities facing droughts, floods, and cyclones in some of the most vulnerable countries.
Governments are currently discussing how the COP27 decision should be implemented, and how the new loss and damage response fund should be capitalized. The International Climate Solidary Levies initiative is a direct answer to this question.
Comments from the authors:
• Robert Filipp, President, Innovative Finance Foundation:
I hope governments who are currently discussing how to find the funds for the new Loss and Damage Response Fund, will consider this initiative.
These levies should be used to mobilize new, additional, and predictable innovative resources. This will ensure that funds to address loss and damage, won’t be taken from existing allocations, from for example adaptation.
• Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and
Development:
People who are flying are responsible for the emissions from their flight. It is thus
only fair that they contribute, to those who are most affected by climate change.
There has been good experience with international solidarity levies for years, and
such levies should now be considered for the Loss and Damage Respond Fund.
• Professor Benito Müller, Managing Director of Oxford Climate Policy:
We call on governments to give International Climate Solidarity Levies for the Loss
and Damage Response Fund due consideration to support the poorest and most vulnerable nations in dealing with the devastating impacts of climate change they are experiencing right now!
For further information, please contact:
➢ Professor Benito Müller, Managing Director of Oxford Climate Policy, director@oxfordclimatepolicy.org
➢ Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development, saleemul.huq@icccad.org
➢ Robert Filipp, President, Innovative Finance Foundation, rf@if.foundation
Download PDF
You will find the full proposal here https://www.icccad.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ICSLFlyer-20-April-2023.pdf
