Global Witness calls on the UK Government to review options for measures that would: Raise additional revenue for the Loss and Damage Fund by requiring oil and gas producing companies to contribute Include a domestic dividend to support UK communities and workers to transition to green industries

Global Witness argues that the UK government should leverage the high profits of the oil and gas industry to fund climate loss and damage both globally and domestically. The briefing highlights that the oil industry made an average of £5 billion in annual profits from UK production over the last 30 years, while the UN Loss and Damage Fund remains severely underfunded, with initial pledges totaling only £504 million as of March 2024. The document proposes a 'Climate Damages Tax' (CDT) that would charge companies for every tonne of carbon from extracted fuels, potentially raising £20 billion in the UK over 10 years. This revenue would be split between the international fund and a 'domestic dividend' to support a worker-led North Sea transition, which is estimated to require an additional £1.9 billion per year until 2030.

• The UK oil and gas industry has generated significant profits, averaging £5 billion after tax annually from UK production over the last 30 years, totaling £150 billion.
• Current funding for the UN Loss and Damage Fund is critically insufficient, with initial pledges of £504 million as of March 2024 representing less than 0.2% of the £304 billion annual cost of climate damages in developing countries.
• Major oil companies have caused immense global economic damage; the 25 largest oil companies caused an estimated £15 trillion in damage from 1985 to 2018, with UK-based Shell and BP accounting for £1.6 trillion of that total.
• Climate change poses severe economic risks to both developing and developed nations; it could reduce the national income of Botswana, Bangladesh, and Pakistan by 25% by 2050, while river and surface flooding could cost the UK 2.2% of its GDP annually by 2073-74.
• The proposed Climate Damages Tax (CDT) would charge fossil fuel companies for every tonne of carbon from extracted fuels and could raise £20 billion in the UK over 10 years.

APA

Global Witness (n.d.). Global Witness calls on the UK Government to review options for measures that would: Raise additional revenue for the Loss and Damage Fund by requiring oil and gas producing companies to contribute Include a domestic dividend to support UK communities and workers to transition to green industries. https://gw.cdn.ngo/media/documents/Global_Witness_briefing_-_UK_oil_industry_contributions_to_climate_action.pdf

Chicago

Global Witness. Global Witness calls on the UK Government to review options for measures that would: Raise additional revenue for the Loss and Damage Fund by requiring oil and gas producing companies to contribute Include a domestic dividend to support UK communities and workers to transition to green industries. n.d. https://gw.cdn.ngo/media/documents/Global_Witness_briefing_-_UK_oil_industry_contributions_to_climate_action.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Witness |title=Global Witness calls on the UK Government to review options for measures that would: Raise additional revenue for the Loss and Damage Fund by requiring oil and gas producing companies to contribute Include a domestic dividend to support UK communities and workers to transition to green industries |url=https://gw.cdn.ngo/media/documents/Global_Witness_briefing_-_UK_oil_industry_contributions_to_climate_action.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalwitnessndglobal, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{Global Witness calls on the UK Government to review options for measures that would: Raise additional revenue for the Loss and Damage Fund by requiring oil and gas producing companies to contribute Include a domestic dividend to support UK communities and workers to transition to green industries}}, institution = {Global Witness}, url = {https://gw.cdn.ngo/media/documents/Global_Witness_briefing_-_UK_oil_industry_contributions_to_climate_action.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }