Mr Romaric Houdou Samson, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Manager, Greenpeace Africa, says the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) must introduce a Climate Damages Tax (CDT) for climate finance.

He said that could generate $900 billion by 2030, starting in 2024 at a low initial rate of $5 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), increasing by $5 per tonne each year to address climate goals.

Mr Samson was speaking at a press conference as part of the Global Week of Action on Climate Finance, organised by Greenpeace Africa in collaboration with Pro Environment Africa and other stakeholders in Accra.

The Global Week of Action on Climate Finance was under the theme, “Unlocking Climate Finance for Africa.”

He said CDT could generate funds specifically earmarked for climate adaptation and mitigation projects which could support vulnerable communities and enhance resilience against climate impacts.

“By taxing activities that contribute to climate damages, the OECD can hold polluters accountable, which will encourage companies and countries to adopt more sustainable practices and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG),” he added.

He said climate finance was critical in enabling Africa to mitigate and adapt to the growing costly impacts of climate change and to ensure that its future development path was consistent with the goal of limiting global warming to no more than 1.5°C.

Mr Samson said in addition, how Africa developed would also be critical to future GHG emissions given that its energy use was projected to grow rapidly to meet its development needs.

He said a zero-carbon and climate-resilient path offered Africa the opportunity to leapfrog to a more viable and better source of energy that could deliver on both its development and climate goals.

Mr Samson said the leapfrogging would require a major shift in the scale and quality of climate finance for just energy transitions, climate change adaptation and resilience, and biodiversity protection, through agriculture, food, and land use practices.

“Funding opportunities are available to address the climate crisis, however, there is a need to harness these opportunities towards achieving climate goals,” he added.

He said the proposal for a CDT on the extraction of fossil fuels was one example of a new source of finance based on the polluter pays principle which had the potential to generate billions of dollars for climate action.

The Manager said the bulk of those funds could go towards international support for climate action in developing countries where it was needed most.

He said climate finance should support the retraining and reskilling of workers in the coal, oil, and gas sectors, providing them with new opportunities in the emerging green economy.

“This approach helps to protect livelihoods while advancing climate goals,” he added.

Mr Samson said the New Collective and Quantified Goal (NCQG) must respond to the need for significantly scaled-up international public climate finance, making polluters pay offers, an equitable approach to raising much-needed revenues.

He said the NCQG needed to acknowledge the need for the fossil fuel industry and other high-emitting sectors to pay for the harm and destruction caused by their products.

Mr Samson added that wealthy countries must honour their commitments under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement by providing support to developing nations for climate change efforts, in accordance with the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities based on their respective capabilities.