New York, United States, 3 August 2026 – As the fifth round of negotiations on the Global Tax Treaty – also known as the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation – opens today in New York, Greenpeace International is calling on governments to raise their ambition. Gaps in the draft text, published in full for the first time, must be addressed so that global tax rules can help solve the connected climate, nature, and inequality crises, rather than letting corporate polluters and the super-rich profit while everyone else pays the price.
Nina Stros, Global Senior Policy Expert, Greenpeace International said: "Governments and delegates still have not grasped what is at stake but they face a simple choice. Create global tax rules to speed the transition to a fairer, more resilient future by disincentivising investment in environmentally destructive industries, ending tax-dodging, and holding wealthy polluters to account. Or keep shielding polluting corporations and the super-rich while communities pay the price through higher bills and climate devastation. The money is right there. It is about time governments recognised this once in a generation opportunity to make those most responsible for the climate, nature and inequality crises we are facing pay their share, and reclaim trillions of dollars to invest in our shared future."
While the world recently saw its first-ever trillionaire, the largest oil and gas corporations are reporting another bonanza in second-quarter profits. Meanwhile, record-breaking heatwaves, rising ocean temperatures and the cost-of-living crisis continue to put communities under pressure worldwide.[1]
The newly published 'zero draft' of the Global Tax Treaty falls far short of the ambition needed to hold the wealthiest polluters to account. Negotiators must push back against the disconnect between this draft and the realities of the climate and inequality crises communities face.[2][3][4]
Despite 24 countries making submissions aligned with strengthening the Treaty's Sustainable Development article, the text does not go beyond the high-level clause already in the terms of reference.[5][6] Governments are left with far too much room to continue with business as usual, rather than creating a clear new legal obligation to hold wealthy polluters to account through national and global tax mechanisms. Similarly, the polluter pays principle appears nowhere in the current draft. The article on taxing high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) has been weakened since the last round of negotiations in January 2026, reducing obligations on countries to act. The draft also fails to include any provisions on minimum profit taxation of multinational companies, or on the taxation of extractive industries and natural resources.
Ucizi Ngulube, Tax Justice Campaigner, Greenpeace Africa, said: "The global majority championed this United Nations process because the current global tax system is fundamentally unfair, serving a handful of wealthy nations and billionaires at the expense of everyone else. As we head into INC-5, countries must remain ambitious. We don't need vague promises, we need bold proposals that stop the exploitation and inequality, and hold the ultra-rich polluters accountable for the climate damage they leave behind."
By closing loopholes on profit-shifting and tax havens, and setting new taxes, nationally and globally, on the profits of the biggest polluters and on extreme wealth, countries could unlock public funds urgently needed for climate action, nature protection and essential public services. [7]
Mayor Melchor Mergal, Municipal Mayor of Salcedo, Eastern Samar, Philippines, survivor of super-typhoon Haiyan and member of Greenpeace delegation in New York said: "I have seen what the increasingly frequent and devastating storms can do to a community, and I know what it takes to rebuild. The money is needed for stronger homes, schools and health centres that can safeguard our communities against the next storm. The funds exist. What we are missing is the political will to make those most responsible pay for the damage. A strong treaty would give communities like mine the means to recover and to build real resilience through making polluters pay."
Greenpeace International is calling on negotiators in New York to strengthen the sustainable development and HNWI articles in line with the proposals countries, experts and civil society groups have put forward, to include the polluter pays principle into the text, and ensure the treaty can reclaim at least one trillion US dollars per year in public finance for climate action, public services and a fair transition.
