Nigerian lawmakers want billionaires, multinationals to pay climate change tax

Members of the House of Representatives have demanded that global billionaires and multinational companies pay some taxes to support African countries battling climate change impacts, particularly victims of the recent flooding in the Nigerian states of Borno and Zamfara.
Making the call at the ongoing special sitting of the Committees of the Pan-African Parliament in South Africa, the Deputy Speaker and leader of the Nigerian delegation to the forum, Benjamin Kalu, advocated a global climate tax to support climate adaptation in the world’s most vulnerable regions, especially Africa.
He was reacting to a paper titled “The impact of climate change and Africa’s strategic pursuits going into COP,” delivered by the Director of Programmes and Research, Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, Mr Charles Nyambura.
Meanwhile, Nobel Prize-winning economist, Esther Duflo had also earlier proposed a global tax to assist vulnerable regions adapt to changing climatic conditions.
Lamenting the recent flooding tragedies in Nigeria, Kalu said the proposed tax will help mitigate the impacts of climate change on the continent.
The Deputy Speaker, in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu, was quoted as saying, “Africa is disproportionately impacted by climate change despite contributing just 3.8 percent to the global share of greenhouse gas emissions in contrast to 23 percent by China, 19 percent by the US, and 13 percent by the European Union.
“Climate change undermines Africa’s progress towards sustainable development goals, hindering economic growth and human well-being.
“Presently, nearly 600 million Africans lack access to electricity according to the World Bank, which hinders economic growth, industrial development, and access to essential services.
“Furthermore, Africa faces a widening energy gap compared to South Asia and Latin America, which have made more significant progress in bridging their energy deficits.”