THE CLIMATE FINANCE FUND BILL
A PRACTICAL PLAN TO MAKE POLLUTERS PAY
The Climate Finance Fund Bill, introduced by Richard Burgon MP, shows how the UK Government could begin putting the polluter pays principle into practice.
Rather than leaving families and taxpayers to shoulder the costs of climate change alone, the Bill would require the Government to develop proposals for a Climate Finance Fund, paid for by the companies and individuals most responsible for pollution and excessive emissions.
It's built around one simple idea:
Those who caused the climate crisis should help pay for the damage it has caused.
HOW COULD THE MONEY BE RAISED?
The Bill doesn't prescribe a single solution. Instead, it asks the Government to bring forward proposals for how a Climate Finance Fund could be financed.
There are many fair ways this could be done, including:
Stronger taxes on the windfall profits of oil and gas companies
Closing tax loopholes that allow fossil fuel companies to avoid paying their fair share
Levies on luxury forms of pollution, such as private jets and super-yachts
Other measures to ensure the biggest polluters contribute more towards the costs of climate change
The exact mix is for Parliament and Government to decide. The principle is simple: those most responsible should contribute most.
HOW COULD THE FUND SUPPORT?
The climate crisis is already creating costs that families and communities cannot afford to shoulder alone.
Protect schools, hospitals and care homes from extreme heat
Strengthen flood defences and protect homes, transport and other vital infrastructure
Equip firefighters and emergency services to respond to worsening climate impacts
Accelerate the transition to clean, affordable energy
Support communities in the UK recovering from climate impacts
Help communities around the world recover from climate loss and damage and adapt to a changing climate
Climate change doesn't stop at borders and neither should our response.
WHY DOES THE BILL MATTER?
Private Members' Bills rarely become law on their own. But they are an important way of putting new ideas onto the political agenda and building support for future government action.
The Climate Finance Fund Bill has helped move the polluter pays principle from a campaign demand into serious political debate, with MPs from across a range of parties backing its principles through an Early Day Motion and the Make Polluters Pay Parliamentary Pledge.
As the campaign grows, we'll continue working with parliamentarians to turn those principles into government policy.