Kenya, France rallying support for new climate tax within two years

France and Kenya will launch a coalition of countries in favour of creating an international tax within two years that would raise billions of dollars for developing countries most exposed to climate change.

French President Emmanuel Macron told the COP28 climate conference in Dubai that his country, Kenya, Barbados and "several others" were starting an "international taskforce" which will deliver its conclusions at next year's G20 summit in Rio.

They plan to enact the tax at the COP30 to be held in Brazil in 2025, Macron added.

"It's a necessity if we want a real result because we need to raise more money to finance our fight against inequalities and for the climate," the French president said.

A press conference is planned for Saturday to present details of the initiative, which has been floated at previous international gatherings this year, including September's Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi.

The coalition would need to devise an innovative tax covering air and sea transport, as well as financial transactions.

Volunteer countries

A group of volunteer countries would have to apply it on their own if a global tax is not agreed, Friederike Roeder from the NGO Global Citizen told AFP.

She said such a tax could be "revolutionary" and raise hundreds of billions of dollars.

The money could support the loss and damage fund, adaptation efforts and key development priorities for poorer nations who are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, added Roeder.

The initiative is part of a wider debate about reforming the global financial architecture to meet the challenges of climate change and weaning the world off planet-heating fossil fuels.

Suggestions include reforming the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, developing innovative taxes and mobilising private capital.