On 20 February 20 2025, CONCORD Sweden and SweDev hosted an event on global solidarity levies, bringing together Swedish civil society representatives and researchers for an informal discussion. Read more to explore the key insights shared.
Photo: Random Person/Unsplash
On 20 February 2025, CONCORD Sweden and SweDev hosted an event on global solidarity levies, bringing together Swedish civil society representatives and researchers for an informal exchange. The discussion was centred around the work of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force, established at COP28 and is currently co-chaired by Barbados, France, and Kenya. The task force is developing internationally coordinated levies to help close the finance gap for the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement, and the Global Biodiversity Framework.
The task force recently published a paper which outlines 16 proposed levies covering eight key areas: aviation, fossil fuels, carbon pricing, shipping, financial transactions, plastic polymers, cryptocurrencies, and high-net-worth individuals. They aim to ensure that industries benefiting most from globalization contribute their fair share to climate and development finance.
With traditional aid budgets shrinking and climate-related costs rising, there is an urgent need for new financing mechanisms. Many polluting industries remain undertaxed and do not contribute enough to mitigating the damage they cause. The task force argues that solidarity levies, which have been tested in various contexts, could be implemented by a coalition of willing countries. The revenue generated would be dedicated entirely to solidarity initiatives, both domestically and internationally.
As part of its 2025 strategy, the task force aims to use the World Bank and IMF spring meetings to initiate political discussions on these levies. Additionally, the levies outlined are expected to be discussed at these meetings as well as at the Financing for Development (FfD4) summit in Seville. By COP30 (which will take place in Brazil in November 2025), the goal is for a group of countries to take the lead in implementing the proposals, potentially forming smaller coalitions focused on different levy types.
The discussion also addressed how to ensure the levies do not replace existing aid commitments, strategies for gaining political support, and the importance of making polluters pay rather than shifting costs to consumers. While challenges remain, there is growing momentum to push these proposals forward in the coming years.