As climate impacts intensify and public budgets shrink, a key question continues to surface in global negotiations: Who pays for the green transition, and on what terms?
This was the focus of a recent webinar co-hosted by CESR, Oxfam GB, and Christian Aid during the London Climate Action Week. The event brought together experts and advocates to examine how fiscal and structural inequalities are shaping the global response to the climate crisis and how to chart a fairer path forward.
Moderated by our Executive Director, Maria Ron Balsera, the discussion connected the dots between austerity, debt, regressive tax rules and the failure of climate finance systems to respond to real needs on the ground. Mariana Paoli of Christian Aid, speaking from the Bonn climate talks, described how rich countries continue to promote private finance mechanisms instead of meeting public funding commitments. Professor Jayati Ghosh called on movements and governments in the Global South to form stronger coalitions and reject the “false promise” of blended finance and voluntary action.
Rose Kobusinge of the Vital Crest Foundation challenged how transition narratives are imposed on African countries without addressing the realities of energy poverty or the risks of further indebtedness. “Communities are being asked to transition from what? We still lack basic access,” she said, noting that small, flexible grants had enabled meaningful action in displacement-affected areas far more than many larger, inaccessible climate finance streams.
Halima Begum, CEO of Oxfam GB, stressed that the transition must be shaped by those most affected: “Justice has never come from the top down. It has always come from movements.” Franziska Mager of the Tax Justice Network argued that the claim of climate finance scarcity masks a deeper issue: the lack of tax sovereignty and the political choices that continue to protect wealth at the expense of the public good.
The conversation underscored that the tools for a just and green transition already exist: wealth taxes, debt cancellation, and progressive, internationally coordinated tax systems. What is missing is political will, particularly among those with the greatest resources and historic responsibility.
This moment, between the Bonn talks, the road to COP30, and the upcoming Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, is a critical one. It demands a shift away from finance driven by extractive logic toward one that puts rights, equity and care at its core.