French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a global taxation system to raise money for green policies climate change mitigation. The call came at the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris this weekend, where the French leader told 1,500+ attendees:
“I’m in favor of an international taxation to finance efforts that we have to make to fight poverty and in terms of climate [action]… It doesn’t work when you do it alone, the [financial] flows go elsewhere.”
– President Emmanuel Macron
The tax could replicate existing schemes in France, Macron said. The country has already placed a higher tax burden on plane tickets and financial institutions, even banning short haul flights. The summit did not reach a final agreement as to what the taxes will look like, though Macron explained that the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) would be an appropriate framework for the negotiations as countries have already used the OECD “to reach a deal on reforming global taxation for large multinationals.”
“Whether it’s on financial transactions, maritime transport or certain other models, it will only work if it’s truly international, and so it presupposes an agreement, as we’ve been able to do on international taxation,” Macron added.
European nations have been making increasingly draconian and intrusive climate demands in recent years, such as the decision taken by the Irish government to cull up to 200,000 cows by 2025 to meet climate change targets.
