English bishops call for higher taxes on fossil fuels

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Church leaders in England are calling on the government to create higher taxes on fossil fuel companies to support countries most affected by the climate crisis.

In a joint letter by Bishop John Arnold, Lead Bishop for Environmental Issues for the Bishops’ Conference, and his Anglican counterpart, Bishop Graham Usher of Norwich, the leaders call on the UK to “play a constructive role” at the COP29 taking place in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

They note one of the goals of the meeting is to secure a New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG).

“Those in communities that have contributed least to causing the climate crisis are being forced to pay an impossible price for measures to protect their communities and rebuild from climate disasters,” the bishops write.

“We recognize how critical the NCQG will be in countering this injustice and assisting countries with the costs of the climate crisis,” the statement says.

The bishops We urge the British delegation to work with fellow ministers at the talks to agree a goal that responds to the scale of finance needed by countries on the frontline of the climate crisis; constitutes new, public money, sourced from the heaviest-polluting individuals and companies, rather than money recycled from existing pots of aid finance; and consists of grants, rather than loans that will add to low-income countries’ existing and crippling debts.

“We make this appeal cognizant of pressures on public finance around the world – including here in the UK. But work from CAFOD and Christian Aid has shown how the governments of rich countries, such as the UK, can ensure developing countries have access to greater sums of money for international climate finance without increasing costs for ordinary taxpayers,” they write.

The bishops urged the government to consider taxing polluting activities undertaken by those who can most afford to pay.

“This would contribute to remedying the injustice of the wealthiest companies and individuals profiting from environmental damage and will help to incentivize the transition to renewables. To this end, we welcome the Government’s announcement in the Budget of an increase in air passenger duty on private jet flights. We encourage the Government to ensure levies on oil and gas companies’ profits more adequately reflect the enormous harm caused by pollution from fossil fuels,” they write.

They also call on the UK government o pass legislation to compel private creditors to resolve debts for countries in crisis on the same terms as governments and multilateral institutions.

“This would mean climate-vulnerable countries would not face a choice between paying huge interest bills to overseas lenders and paying to protect their communities from the climate crisis,” the bishops add.

They also call on the government to support calls for recycling more Special Drawing Rights and allocating a larger proportion to low-income, climate-vulnerable countries.

“This would provide more finance for these countries to invest in measures to tackle the crisis: protecting communities and enabling greater prosperity,” the bishops explain.

“The fact that those who have contributed least to causing the climate crisis, face an unaffordable bill for its impacts is an injustice we cannot tolerate as a country. The consistent support from Church communities for campaigns for action on climate change by Christian Aid and CAFOD is testament to the desire of countless Christians across the UK for the Government to show leadership on this issue,” they write.

“We urge you to ensure your government plays the strongest possible role in remedying this injustice,” the bishops said.

The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), to take place in Baku from November 11 to 22.

In his Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis said he hoped the meetings “may make an effective contribution for the protection of our common home.”

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Bishop John Arnold (Diocese of Westminster)

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