Marinel Ubaldo, climate activist from the Philippines, speaks at a Climate Week event hosted by Oxfam in New York City. Credit: Karelia Pallan/Oxfam
By Marinel Ubaldo
NEW YORK, Oct 1 2025 – I was 16 years old when Super-Typhoon Haiyan tore through my community in Eastern Samar in the Philippines. It remains one of the deadliest storms in history, killing more than 6,000 people and displacing millions. My community lost everything: Loved ones, family homes and land, our ways to earn a living and rebuild, and our sense of safety all vanished overnight.
That storm did not happen in a vacuum. Fossil fuel companies have exacerbated the climate crisis, and with it, the destructive power and frequency of natural disasters. The fossil fuel companies, however, did not pay for the damage – instead they have raked in record profits, while it was our families, our government, and international donors who bore the costs.
That experience shaped my life.
Since Haiyan, I have worked with survivors, youth, and frontline communities across the Philippines and beyond. I have seen up close how climate disasters strip away homes, food security, and dignity.
I have also seen how fossil fuel corporations continue to rake in record profits while we pay the price. That is why I’ve joined campaigns like Make Rich Polluters Pay. Because what we are demanding is not charity – it is justice and accountability.
The science is clear: fossil fuel companies are responsible for around 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions. They have known for decades that burning oil, gas, and coal would destabilize the climate, yet they still choose to deceive the public and delay action. Today, their profits remain astronomical. In 2022 alone, fossil fuel companies made nearly $600 billion in after-tax profits.
Our demand is simple: tax these polluters for the damages they have caused, and channel those revenues to the communities least responsible yet hit hardest by the climate crisis. Such a tax would not only correct a historic injustice, but also mobilize desperately needed resources for adaptation, loss and damage compensation, and a just energy transition.
And it is not only fossil fuel companies that must be held accountable. Oxfam research has found that the richest 1% percent of humanity contribute more to climate breakdown than the poorest two-thirds combined.
A wealth tax on millionaires and billionaires, alongside a permanent polluter profits tax, could raise trillions each year to fund renewable energy, support farmers facing drought, and relieve the crushing debt burdens of countries like mine.
It’s important to note that this is not just an activist demand. A recent survey commissioned by Oxfam and Greenpeace, conducted across 13 countries covering nearly half the world’s population, show overwhelming support for taxing fossil fuel companies. Some key takeaways include:
- • 81% of people support taxing fossil fuel companies – oil, gas, and coal – to pay for climate damages.
• 66% of people say oil and gas companies, not ordinary workers, should cover the costs of disasters.
• 86% of respondents want the revenues directed to communities most impacted by the climate crisis.
• 75% of respondents say frequent flyers, business-class travelers, and private jet users should pay more tax.
• And critically, 77% of people say they would be more likely to vote for political candidates who prioritize taxing polluters and the super-rich.
Even in the United States, with a climate denier in the White House, there is broad and bipartisan support: 75% of people surveyed support taxing oil and gas companies for climate damages – including 63% of Republicans.
In my own country, the Philippines, support is even higher: 84% back taxing fossil fuel companies. For us, the reason is clear. We know what it means to lose everything in a storm while watching corporations grow richer from the fuels that heat our planet.
And momentum for action is building. Last week, nearly 40 former heads of state and government – including former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former presidents Mary Robinson (Ireland), Vicente Fox (Mexico), and Carlos Alvarado (Costa Rica), among many others – issued an open letter urging governments to adopt permanent polluter profit taxes.
They argue that fossil fuel companies must contribute their fair share to finance the global energy transition and support those most at risk.
Oxfam analysis shows that a polluter profits tax on oil, gas, and coal companies could raise up to $400 billion in its first year alone. That is enough to provide major support for renewable energy expansion, climate adaptation, and relief for countries drowning in debt.
We also know this approach is feasible. During the 2022 oil price crisis, several governments implemented windfall taxes. In the United States, states like Vermont and New York have passed legislation requiring fossil fuel companies to pay into funds that support adaptation and disaster response. These examples prove that taxing polluters is possible and popular.
As world leaders return home after this year’s UN General Assembly to prepare for upcoming G20 talks in South Africa and COP30 in Brazil, the question before them is not whether this is possible. It is whether they will listen to scientists, to the public, to former presidents and prime ministers, and to frontline voices like mine.
For me, and for millions already living in the heart of this crisis, the call is clear: it is past time to make polluters pay.
Marinel Ubaldo is a climate activist from the Philippines who advocates for climate justice, and is a founding partner, of Oxfam’s “Make Rich Polluters Pay” campaign.
IPS UN Bureau
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