A new international survey reveals that a vast majority, eight out of ten people globally, support taxing oil and gas companies to fund climate-related damage repairs.

The research, conducted in 13 countries including Kenya and most G7 nations, shows strong public backing for holding fossil fuel corporations financially accountable for the impacts of climate change.

The findings also underscore widespread concern that governments are failing to effectively challenge the influence of powerful, high-emission industries and wealthy elites who benefit from the status quo.

In countries like South Africa and Kenya, the survey showed consistent support for such taxes across diverse political, economic, and age demographics, highlighting a growing global demand for fair and decisive climate action.

Environmental advocates have applauded the results. For years, climate campaigners have pushed for polluter-pays principles to be applied to the fossil fuel sector, citing the environmental and human costs of carbon pollution.

“People are not just witnessing the consequences they’re bearing the brunt of disasters driven by fossil fuel profits,” said Sherelee Odayar, Oil and Gas Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa.

“Governments now have a clear mandate to ensure oil, gas, and coal giants contribute their fair share towards addressing the destruction they’ve helped cause. A well-designed polluter tax could shift dirty profits into clean investments for the communities most at risk. That’s what climate justice in Africa looks like.”

Speaking at the UN Climate Meetings in Bonn, Germany, Kenya’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, Ali Mohamed, echoed those sentiments.

He emphasized that the Nairobi Declaration, adopted during the first-ever Africa Climate Summit—calls for a global system of carbon taxes, including levies on fossil fuel transactions.

“Kenya, as co-chair of the Global Solidarity Levies Taskforce, is championing this approach alongside other like-minded nations,” said Mohamed.

“The idea is straightforward: those profiting from emissions that are wreaking havoc across the globe must contribute to helping affected communities adapt and rebuild.”

The Dynata-led study was unveiled alongside the launch of the Polluters Pay Pact, a global coalition of communities confronting the worst effects of climate change.

The Pact demands that governments prioritize taxing major emitters over burdening everyday citizens.

Mads Christensen, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, noted that the survey delivers a clear verdict from the public.

“People can see that fossil fuel corporations are behind the escalating storms, fires, and droughts destroying homes and livelihoods.

It’s long past time for accountability,” he said. “Governments have a golden opportunity to raise billions in funding for real climate solutions by charging those who caused the crisis, not those enduring its consequences.”

These findings, released just a day ago, bolster the key goals of the Polluters Pay Pact. They come at a time when climate-induced disasters are accelerating, and economic inequality is widening.

The survey results were presented during the ongoing UN Climate Meetings (SB62) in Bonn, where governments are weighing policy solutions to secure at least $1.3 trillion annually in climate finance for the Global South by 2035.

Commissioned by Greenpeace International and Oxfam International, the report lends further weight to calls for a fairer, more just climate finance model.