Tax Their Billions: How it’s going in Europe

Here’s a quick look at what we’ve done together just in the last few months:

Breaking ground in Seville
During the recent UN Financing for Development Conference which took place during a sweltering heatwave in Seville, we called on governments to tax extreme wealth and invest in real solutions – alongside many other partner organisations. Through a variety of mediums, including a petition, webinar, video and blog post we made it crystal clear how the money could be spent to power up the transition to renewables at home and across the world along with cutting energy bills, creating green jobs and protecting communities from climate impacts.

And some HUGE news came out of the conference! A new alliance to tax the super-rich was launched by Spain and Brazil with support from South Africa and Chile [1]. Although many more countries need to join this coalition now, it marks a growing global shift towards taxing extreme wealth through international tax negotiations at the UN – and that’s super exciting!

Thanks to everyone who helped spread the message during this critical conference.

Coalition of partners making sure decision-makers hear our message loud and clear at the UN Financing for Development Conference in Seville. Photo: UN Photo / Julio Muñoz

France: The French Senate vote
In France, we pushed hard to get the Senate to pass the Zucman Tax: a 2% minimum tax on wealth over €100 million. The National Assembly approved it in February. All eyes then turned to the French Senate.

Though we narrowly lost the vote (just 30 votes short), we scored huge political wins. More than 65,000 people signed our joint petition with Oxfam and Attac and through a variety of actions, events and media coverage we showed that taxing the super-rich has strong public support, from mayors to MPs, from economists to everyday citizens. The 350 team in France is already planning more activities to keep up the pressure so… watch this space!

Fanny from 350 France speaking at a rally in Paris ahead of the vote. 

Germany: Turning up the heat on billionaires
In June, we joined with partners to take to the streets in Berlin, Nuremberg, Munich and Hildesheim. While billionaire lobbyists gathered behind closed doors, we held creative protests demanding the SPD (the centre-left party that is part of the government coalition) follow through on their promise to tax extreme wealth.

There were money-suitcases, satirical speeches, a polar bear mascot, and even a film premiere. But behind the fun was a serious demand: wealth taxes to fund the energy transition, public transport, housing and care. The pressure is building and more actions are planned.

Action in Nürnberg calling for taxes on extreme wealth. 

UK: People-powered push for fairness

We’re part of a growing coalition calling to tax the super-rich in the UK and public support is on the rise. A new poll shows that 75% of Brits want to see higher taxes on extreme wealth.

Together with partners, unions, economists, and even millionaires, we’ve joined rallies, launched open letters and pushed MPs to make pledges. We’re keeping the pressure on politicians who are rapidly running out of reasons to avoid taxing the super-rich and we’re building towards something big: a huge march in London on September 20th, part of global “Draw The Line” days of action, which we’ll share more about soon – you can sign up here to save the date.

We also just launched our TaxForce: a WhatsApp channel for people who want to take the next step in the Tax Their Billions campaign – and you can join!

350 staff joining a rally in Westminster ahead of the Spring Budget, to demand that the Government taxes the super-rich. 

Trump’s Gas: We won’t be blackmailed

President Trump is using trade threats to pressure Europe into buying more dirty, fracked gas from the US, what we call “TrumpGas”. It’s as bad for the climate as coal and comes with a price tag of pollution, human rights violations and environmental devastation. Together with our sister organisation in the Netherlands Fosseilvrij NL, we’re pushing back against the EU’s plan to purchase more gas that will only lock in further climate disasters.

Just this week, in the Netherlands, people “donated their farts” to protest TrumpGas, and they were delivered to the US consulate by a Dutch drag queen with three giant balloons! Check out the video if you’re finding this hard to believe! The deadline for the EU to accept Trump’s gas deal was extended until August 1 and the campaign will continue. You can sign the petition here.

Eyes now on COP30

The latest UN climate talks in Bonn made little progress. Political divisions and delays meant that key issues were left unresolved including taking forward the agreement to phase-out of fossil fuels and scaling up renewable energy at the scale we need. But civil society held the line. Together, we reminded governments that promises to triple renewables and end fossil fuel expansion must be kept. Now, all eyes turn to the big UN Climate Talks (COP30) in Belém, Brazil – and we’ll be ready. Digital action?

Photo from action led by 350, in collaboration with Indigenous communities and international partners at Bonn. 

A warning from Brussels
In a worrying twist, the far-right ‘Patriots for Europe’ bloc has taken control of the EU Parliament’s negotiations on climate targets [2]. They openly want to dismantle the Green Deal and stop Europe from achieving climate neutrality. We can’t let this happen. The climate crisis demands bold, united action not backsliding into fossil-fuelled nationalism. This is a dangerous moment, but also a call to action. There’s more leadership needed from countries like France and Germany who need to ensure the EU stands firm for the full and fair phase out of fossil fuels especially at COP30.

This is what people-power looks like. And we’re only halfway through the year.

Thank you for being part of this. We can’t wait to take even bolder action with you in the months ahead.

Sources
[1] Spain and Brazil push global action to tax the super-rich and curb inequality (United Nations)
[2] Patriots for Europe look to derail signature EU climate policy with key parliament file (Euronews)