In just a few hours’ time, the Brazilian Senate could pass a measure that would hand some of the biggest oil companies in the world a giant tax break worth $300 billion — exempting all oil and gas research and exploration activities from all taxes! As many of you know all too well, the only thing that can stop tax cuts for the rich is people power. There’s a chance we could stop this measure in its tracks, but the vote is in a few hours’ time, so we need to move fast.
The Presidential decree has already been passed by the Brazilian House of Representatives, and so that means the Brazilian Senate is our only opportunity. We know there are about 30 or so who will vote against this massive tax subsidy. That means we only have to persuade another 11 Senators to vote NO to win this one.
What’s missing from the debate in Brazil right now is a strong international voice. We believe a global wave of opposition can have a real impact on the outcome of this disastrous subsidy. Please take a few minutes to join this Twitter action that will send your messages straight to the Brazilian swing-vote Senators. The only thing more powerful than the fossil fuel industry is people power.
1: Tweet at Senators Wilder Morais, Otto Alencar & Cidinho Santos
2: Tweet at Senators Garibaldi Filho & Lasier Martins
3: Tweet at Senators Randolfe Rodrigues & Romário de Souza Faria
4: Tweet at Senators Ronaldo Caiado & Cristovam Buarque
5: Tweet at Senators Álvaro Dias & Ana Amélia Lemos
People from governments, development agencies, big finance and others are literally sitting down in Paris today to talk about how to improve climate finance. On the very same day Brazil could pass a law that instead of ending state subsidies to out-of-date fossil fuels, hands them a giant state sponsored tax subsidy.
If thousands of us tweeted at those Brazilian Senators deciding which way to vote, we could persuade them to live up to their Paris agreement commitments, and to not trash the Paris climate finance summit by handing the oil industry hundreds of billions of dollars.
What is incredibly powerful about the global climate movement is that no matter where we are in the world we can come together to push against the causes of climate catastrophe. Now we need to mobilise to help persuade those wavering Brazilian Senators to say #notapennymore for fossil fuels and reject the tax break.