Oxfam’s report Payment Overdue, Fair ways to make polluters across the UK pay for climate justice proposes that those most responsible for emissions and those best able to pay should pay to address climate change. Oxfam recognises that fossil fuel companies and rich individuals “are disproportionately responsible for the climate crisis” but “have been let off with not paying to deal with its consequences.”

The climate crisis is now a reality: its effects range from the UK breaching 
40°C for the first time in 2022 to a devastating and ongoing drought in East 
Africa, which would not have occurred without global heating. In the UK and 
globally, it is people living in poverty who bear the consequences of 
inaction. Public finance is a critical lifeline for communities on the frontlines 
of the climate crisis, yet we are increasingly looking to dwindling aid 
budgets to meet escalating needs. Meanwhile, billionaires amass yet more 
wealth and fossil fuel producers post record profits. 

These polluters have caused – and continue to cause – irreversible damage 
to our planet, and it’s only fair that they pay for the harm caused by their 
actions. Fairer taxes on the largest polluters would not only generate 
additional finance but could also create financial incentives for them to 
reduce their emissions.  

The UK is a huge historical emitter. It must take responsibility for this, but 
the onus of paying should not be split equally among the public. Those who 
have emitted the most and profited while doing so – particularly fossil fuel 
producers and wealthy people – should be doing the heavy lifting. This 
paper sets out four options to do this. 

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Payment Overdue, Fair ways to make polluters across the UK pay for climate justice