President William Ruto and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Friday proposed a new international tax scheduled to be enforced in the next two years to combat Climate Change.
Speaking during a panel discussion on transforming climate finance in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the two world leaders explained that the tax would majorly target financial transactions.
Macron, during the COP28 event, further revealed that the scope of the new international tax would be extended to air and sea transport.
Kenya and France are expected to rally and launch a union of countries favouring the new tax that would raise billions of dollars annually.
The money will then be used to help developing countries in Africa and other parts of the world mitigate the effects of Climate Change.
If the plan receives substantial support from many countries, the new tax will come into effect in 2025 during COP30, which will be held in Brazil.
"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," Macron explained why the tax was much needed.
President Ruto initially mooted the discussion of a new international tax during the Africa Climate Summit held in Nairobi in September.
Should developed countries reject the global tax proposal, Friederike Roeder from the Non-Governmental Organisation Global Citizen revealed that volunteer countries would apply it on their own.
President Ruto expressed gratitude for Macron's support of the global tax initiative.
“I associate myself with what Macron has said especially in the space of where are we going to find additional new revenue sources for climate financing,” Ruto stated.
He explained that one of the ways to reverse Climate Change was through renewable energy, which Africa has in abundance.
“No country is left between making a choice between development or climate action,” Ruto, who earlier addressed world leaders on behalf of African Presidents, explained how money raised through the tax would assist the continent.
Kenya and other developing countries will use the revenue to support adaptation efforts and key development priorities.
