A reform of the global tax system is urgently needed in order to distribute burdens fairly and to achieve climate and development goals. In the second part of our blog series in the run-up to the Fourth United Nations Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville, we analyse the extent to which the super-rich and some under-taxed industries in particular are fuelling the climate crisis. Moreover, we show why the issue of tax reforms could be the key to a successful FfD4.
Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sánchez are set to tie the knot in Venice from 24 to 26 June, aboard a superyacht in the city’s iconic lagoon. With 200 guests expected and reassurances from the municipality that everything is under control, it’s shaping up to be a highly glamorous affair, rivalling a G7 summit in size and spectacle. But the timing is hard to ignore: just days later, from 30 June to 3 July, world leaders will gather in Seville at the Fourth United Nations Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) to address the question of how to finance public goods in countries facing severe fiscal strain. The contrast could not be any sharper, and it is sparking questions about priorities, fairness, and who really foots the bill when billionaires celebrate.
Tax Justice Starts at the Top: Let the Rich Pay Their Fair Share
When it comes to funding development and climate action, we must turn to the biggest offenders – the ultra-wealthy who pollute the most but pay the least.
Billionaires’ lifestyles, involving superyachts, private jets, and even space trips, leave an outsized carbon footprint. Many bankroll fossil fuel industries and wield political influence to block climate policies. Elon Musk’s support for far-right actors is a stark example of how billionaire power can steer politics against the planet. Globally, the top 0.01% emit around 2,300 tons of CO₂ per person annually – more than 1,600 times the emissions of the poorest 50%. In Germany, the picture is no better: the wealthiest 1% emit 15 times more carbon than the poorest half of the population. Meanwhile, they dodge taxes through loopholes and tax havens, escaping responsibility for their enormous pollution.
Taxing billionaires is therefore not only a matter of fairness but also of effectiveness. Economist Gabriel Zucman estimates that taxing just 3,000 billionaires worldwide could generate USD 200–250 billion annually. In Germany alone, a tax on billionaire wealth could raise EUR 5.7 billion each year – critical funds urgently needed to fight climate change and reduce inequality.
Target the Dirty Money: High-Emitting Sectors Must Pay Up
The love story that is currently making headlines made waves before – when Jeff Bezos and fiancée Lauren Sánchez flew into Van Nuys Airport aboard his brand-new G700 private jet for a double date with celebrity friends Kris Jenner and Corey Gamble at the LA hotspot Giorgio Baldi. With this latest addition, Bezos’ private jet fleet is now valued at over USD 200 million.
But while these jets are the ultimate symbols of exclusivity, they come at an extraordinary environmental cost: private jets emit up to 14 times more CO₂ per passenger than commercial flights – and yet remain virtually untaxed due to long-standing exemptions on aviation fuel and value-added tax as well as weak enforcement of luxury transport levies.
Private jets are the poster child for unaccounted excessive pollution, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. The entire aviation sector benefits from outdated international treaties and bilateral agreements that allow it to avoid paying its fair share.
Solidarity in climate and development finance must therefore extend beyond individuals – it must also apply across sectors. The recent decision by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to price shipping emissions marks a pivotal first step. While debates continue over how transformative the mechanism will truly be, especially in ensuring that revenues reach Global South countries disproportionately affected by climate change, the principle is clear: high-polluting industries must start paying for the damage they cause.
This logic must now be extended. Extractive sectors like fossil fuels, along with aviation and finance, remain vastly undertaxed despite their outsized carbon footprint. Introducing solidarity levies – such as those proposed by the Global Solidarity Taskforce – as innovative financing tools in these areas could help close the global funding gap for sustainable development and climate action.
Rewrite the Rules: A Fairer Global Tax System for All
Every year, African countries lose an estimated USD 50–100 billion due to tax avoidance by multinational corporations. These losses often dwarf the aid they receive. And this is about more than just numbers. Tax abuse drains public budgets and deepens inequality, while simultaneously undermining the vital funding needed to tackle the climate crisis and support sustainable development. Much of this stems from outdated international tax rules developed within the OECD, where African and Global South voices have historically been sidelined.
The good news? Momentum is building for change. The Africa Group and G77 are championing a bold alternative: a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (UNFCITC). For the first time, all countries can negotiate fair, inclusive global tax rules on an equal footing.
Europe, and Germany more specifically, have a key role to play. They need to support the UNFCITC and recognise it as the legitimate, democratic forum for setting fair global tax rules that align with climate and environmental goals. By doing so, Germany and Europe can help end harmful tax competition, create a level playing field, and boost fair tax revenues. This would increase economic stability, build stronger international partnerships, and secure essential funding for climate action. Building on these efforts, a protocol could in the longer-term focus specifically on environmental taxation, providing a dedicated framework to advance international cooperation and progress on the issue.
Why Tax Justice Could Be the Breakthrough FfD4 Needs
FfD4 in Seville is a rare, once-in-a-decade opportunity – and the last big, dedicated moment before the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) deadline – to reshape how the world funds development and climate action. Among all agenda items under discussion at FfD4, domestic resource mobilisation, especially through taxation, has emerged as the most promising front for a breakthrough.
In the current draft of the outcome document, international tax reform via the UNFCITC offers one of the few structural levers to truly reshape the global financial architecture. Stronger international tax cooperation would allow Global South countries to generate more predictable public revenues, reducing reliance on aid and debt to fund development and climate goals, which is particularly important as traditional financing is drying up. At the same time, it offers countries in the Global North new fiscal tools and innovative financing options to meet overdue climate and development pledges, particularly in light of the insufficient outcome of last year’s decision on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate finance.
Germany stands at a crossroads. With multilateralism under attack and global progress stalling, it’s time for bold leadership. Germany must double down and push hard for real change.
FfD4 can’t fail. International tax justice via the UN’s Framework Convention must lead the way – and climate issues must take centre stage. We need levies that make polluters pay, whether billionaires or big industries. Solidarity and fair redistribution, at home and globally, are the keys to a sustainable future.
The first part of our blog series can be found here.
