African leaders have proposed new global taxation measures to fund climate action, according to a declaration issued at the end of the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi.
The leaders called for a carbon tax on fossil fuel trade, maritime transport, and aviation, as well as a global financial transaction tax. They also urged world leaders to reform international financial institutions to make them more responsive to the needs of developing countries.
The declaration said that Africa is disproportionately affected by climate change, but receives only a fraction of the financing it needs to adapt to and mitigate the effects of the crisis.
“We are calling on the international community to take urgent action to address the climate crisis,” said Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who hosted the summit. “We need to raise the trillions of dollars needed to finance climate action, and we need to do it in a way that is fair and equitable.”
The Nairobi Declaration is a significant step forward in the fight against climate change, but it remains to be seen whether world leaders will heed the call for action. The next major climate summit, COP28, will be held in Dubai in November.
According to the proposal, the carbon tax would be levied on the import and export of fossil fuels, as well as on the consumption of fossil fuels within countries.While the global financial transaction tax would be levied on the trading of financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, and derivatives.
The reforms to international financial institutions would include increasing the lending capacity of these institutions and making them more transparent and accountable.
The declaration was endorsed by all 54 African countries that attended the summit. It is now up to world leaders to decide whether they will take up the call for action.
