Global Solidarity Levies: A Call for Country Participation

The document outlines the work of the Global Solidarity Levy Task Force (GSLTF) in developing 16 tax options targeting undertaxed, high-emission sectors to bridge the trillion-dollar financing gap for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement. It highlights the potential for these levies to generate over $500 billion in annual revenue and calls for developing countries to engage in the design and assessment of these mechanisms to ensure equitable access to funds. The brief details the GSLTF's efforts to build political momentum through international forums and its submission to the Baku to Belém Roadmap to support the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance.

• There is a massive financing gap for sustainable development, with UNCTAD estimating an annual need between $6.9 trillion and $7.6 trillion to achieve the SDGs, while an investment gap of $4 trillion per year exists specifically for SDG implementation in developing countries.
• The GSLTF has proposed 16 levy options targeting sectors responsible for carbon emissions, including aviation, fossil fuels, shipping, financial transactions, plastic polymers, cryptocurrencies, and high-net-worth individuals.
• The total annual revenue potential of these solidarity levies is estimated to exceed $500 billion in an optimistic projection. Specific examples include a 0.1% levy on trading stocks and bonds ($418 billion), a $5 per tonne of CO2 levy on fossil fuel extraction ($210 billion), and a global carbon price on international shipping and aviation ($200 billion).
• Most proposed taxes would be recovered through a country's own tax system, meaning the levying country benefits directly, with the exception of a proposed maritime tax to be collected by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for a net-zero fund.
• The GSLTF is seeking to integrate solidarity levies into the Baku to Belém Roadmap to $1.3 trillion, which aims to scale up financial flows to developing countries to at least $1.3 trillion per year by 2035, including a goal for developed countries to raise at least $300 billion annually.
• The GSLTF has established a 'coalition of the willing' consisting of Antigua and Barbuda, Colombia, Denmark, Djibouti, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Spain, and Zambia.

APA

PEARSON, K. (2025). Global Solidarity Levies: A Call for Country Participation. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/SAIIA_PB-309_GlobalSolidarityLevies.pdf

Chicago

PEARSON, KIRSTEN. Global Solidarity Levies: A Call for Country Participation. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2025. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/SAIIA_PB-309_GlobalSolidarityLevies.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=PEARSON |first1=KIRSTEN |title=Global Solidarity Levies: A Call for Country Participation |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=June 2025 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/SAIIA_PB-309_GlobalSolidarityLevies.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pearson2025global, author = {PEARSON, KIRSTEN}, 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/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/SAIIA_PB-309_GlobalSolidarityLevies.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }