Politicians, trade unionists, faith leaders and climate campaigners gathered outside Parliament today to demand that the UK Government make oil and gas companies pay their fair share towards tackling climate damage, ahead of the Autumn Budget.
The Make Polluters Pay coalition called on ministers to resist industry lobbying to weaken taxes on fossil fuel companies, warning that households and businesses must not be left to foot the bill for climate breakdown while oil and gas giants cash in on unearned war-driven mega-profits.
The action follows a summer of wildfires, drought and extreme heat in the UK, and a glacier collapse in the Himalayas that caused devastation in Nepal. The Budget comes just days before oil and gas companies are expected to announce another round of quarterly profits, forecast to be even higher. Campaigners warned that the Budget is a crucial opportunity for the Government to make polluters contribute more towards the costs of climate damage, rather than give in to industry lobbying for a weaker tax regime.
The rally follows UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s final General Assembly speech, in which he told world leaders that “polluters must pay” and urged campaigners to continue their efforts, saying: “You are on the right side of history – keep going.”
The coalition is calling on the Government to make oil and gas companies pay their fair share to protect households, businesses and essential infrastructure from the climate crisis, at home and abroad. This funding is needed to accelerate the transition to secure renewable energy, support workers moving out of high-carbon jobs, and resource overstretched firefighters, public services such as schools and hospitals, and communities facing the impacts of climate breakdown.
Louise Hutchins, Co-convenor of the Make Polluter Pay international coalition, said: “Oil and gas giants have made $2.8 billion in profit every single day for 50 years. Now, they’re cashing in on war-driven price rises while lobbying to pay less tax.
At the Budget, the Government must choose: stand with people facing the costs of climate breakdown, or give in to the wealthy oil and gas lobby. Make polluters pay.”
Richard Burgon, MP for Leeds East, said: “Fossil fuel giants knowingly took us to the cliff-edge of climate catastrophe in the pursuit of ever-greater profits. This campaign is about ensuring those responsible for the climate crisis pay up for the damage they have caused and the climate action we need. This is not only a just demand, it’s a popular one. I put down a bill in Parliament to Make Polluters Pay and there’s growing parliamentary support for this cause. This is a campaign we can win!”
Hannah Spencer, MP for Gorton and Denton, said: “The world’s five biggest oil companies made almost £400 million in profit every single day this spring. That is what we mean when we say that the climate crisis is a crisis of accountability, and a crisis of fairness. Because right now while polluters celebrate cashing in on war, it is households and communities all across the country footing the bill – through soaring energy costs and through climate breakdown.”
Fran Heathcote, PCS General Secretary said: “Whenever there is a crisis, the fundamental question is 'who pays?'. Is it people on their bills, workers with their pay or jobs or those at the top with their profits and dividends. As people face rising prices this winter, the Government must show it is on the side of people, not profit: make polluters pay.”
Paul Parker, recording clerk for Quakers in Britain, who addressed the crowd, said: “This action reflects the message Quakers have been taking to international forums. “Responding to the climate crisis is not only an environmental challenge but a moral one, raising questions about responsibility, fairness and how resources are shared.”
Shanon Shah, Director for Faith for the Climate, who addressed the crowd, said: “The public tide is turning. I can feel it. More and more people of all faiths – and none – are realising that the fossil fuel industry's behaviour is neither normal, healthy, moral nor sane. And our political leaders have to act. The vast majority of the world is already with us in body, mind, and spirit. We can win this. Make polluters pay.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
- The Make Polluters Pay coalition is campaigning for fossil fuel companies to pay their fair share towards tackling the climate crisis and protecting people from the costs of fossil fuel dependence. www.makepolluterspay.co.uk
- The action took place in Parliament Square on Wednesday 14 October 2026, ahead of the UK Autumn Budget.
- Photos from the action can be found here.
