Global Solidarity Levies: A Call for Country Participation

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs advocates for global participation in the Global Solidarity Levy Task Force (GSLTF) to mobilize finance for climate action and sustainable development. It outlines 16 proposed tax options targeting undertaxed, high-emission sectors to address a significant global financing gap, urging developing countries to engage in the design and assessment of these levies to ensure equitable access to funds.

• There is a massive gap between current climate and development finance and the amounts required to meet global goals. UNCTAD estimated in 2023 that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires between $6.9 trillion and $7.6 trillion annually, while the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs reported a $4 trillion annual investment gap for SDG implementation in developing countries.
• The Global Solidarity Levy Task Force (GSLTF), co-chaired by Barbados, France, and Kenya, aims to generate political support and momentum for a range of tax options to fund climate and development goals. The GSLTF has formed a 'coalition of the willing' including countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, Colombia, Denmark, Djibouti, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Spain, and Zambia.
• The GSLTF has proposed 16 levy options targeting sectors responsible for carbon emissions, including aviation, fossil fuels, carbon pricing, shipping, financial transactions, plastic polymers, cryptocurrencies, and high-net-worth individuals. These proposals are designed to recover taxes from the heaviest polluters to counterbalance the estimated $7 trillion spent on fossil fuel subsidies in 2022.
• The potential annual revenue from these levies is significant, with an optimistic projection exceeding $500 billion. Specific estimates include $418 billion from a 0.1% global levy on trading stocks and bonds, $210 billion from a $5 per tonne of CO2 levy on fossil fuel extraction, and $200 billion from a global carbon price on international shipping and aviation.
• Most proposed taxes would be recovered through a country's own tax system, though the maritime tax would be collected by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) via a net-zero fund. The GSLTF is developing a dashboard, in collaboration with the London School of Economics, to track which countries have implemented these levies.
• The GSLTF is seeking to integrate its proposals into the 'Baku to Belém Roadmap to $1.3 trillion', which relates to the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance from COP29. This goal calls for developed countries to raise at least $300 billion annually for developing nations, with a total target of $1.3 trillion per year by 2035 from all contributors.
• The brief emphasizes that the 'solidarity' aspect depends on revenue reallocation, as participation and the allocation of grants to developing countries remain at the discretion of individual developed nations. It calls for tax policymakers to focus on equitable access mechanisms and robust transparency.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2025). Global Solidarity Levies: A Call for Country Participation. https://saiia.org.za/research/global-solidarity-levies-a-call-for-country-participation/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Global Solidarity Levies: A Call for Country Participation. 2025. https://saiia.org.za/research/global-solidarity-levies-a-call-for-country-participation/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Global Solidarity Levies: A Call for Country Participation |date=11 June 2025 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/global-solidarity-levies-a-call-for-country-participation/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2025global, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Global Solidarity Levies: A Call for Country Participation}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/global-solidarity-levies-a-call-for-country-participation/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }