Big gas, coal and oil companies make an absolute killing from climate change, while ordinary Australians are footing the bill.

It’s not fair. It's time for these predominantly foreign-owned companies started paying for the damage. 

✍️ Add your name to the petition now!

While coal and gas companies are making millions in profits from burning fossil fuels, climate related disasters are becoming more frequent and more extreme.

It's our communities who are footing the bill to rebuild and clean up the damage, instead of the companies who are fueling these disasters.

Together let's call on the Australian Government to make coal and gas corporations pay for the damage they cause.  

Why a climate disaster levy?

• Fossil fuels are damaging our atmosphere and making climate related disasters like fires, floods, heatwaves and drought more frequent and more extreme.
• Australian households and businesses are already paying billions of dollars every year as a result. These costs include damage to our properties, higher insurance premiums, higher taxes to pay for emergency response, relief and reconstruction and higher food prices because of the impact on agriculture.
• This is driving up the cost of living for ordinary Australians, while the handful of global energy corporations causing it pay none of these costs.
• These costs will keep rising as fires, floods, drought and heatwaves become more extreme as a result of climate change, unless we also stop new coal and gas projects.
• If we don’t make these foreign owned energy giants pay for the damage they are causing, YOU will pay instead.

How will it work?

• Australia is the third largest fossil fuel exporter in the world and fifth largest producer. 
• A handful of predominantly foreign owned corporations are making windfall profits selling our resources, often pay little if any tax, and get much of the resource for free.
• A climate disaster levy on fossil fuel exports from Australia could raise billions of dollars every year to pay the costs of climate change, without raising prices in Australia.

Potential rates of the levy

• How much money a climate disaster levy would raise depends on how much the Australian Government chooses to charge per tonne of exported pollution. If the climate disaster levy is set at a higher rate (Australian dollars per tonne of CO2-e), this could raise additional revenue.
• Higher rates are also more likely to discourage quantities of fossil fuel exports and overall carbon emissions, resulting in some reduction in estimated revenue, though benefiting the climate and domestic energy prices.
• The below table includes several potential rates for the levy and applies those rates to the estimated 1 billion tonnes of carbon pollution exported each year to give an indication of how much revenue could be raised.
• This table has several estimates that are familiar to observers of Australian and international climate policy, including:
  • Gillard-era carbon price: if the carbon price introduced under the Gillard Government had not been repealed, and increased at the same rate as overall inflation, it would currently be around $34 per tonne of CO₂-e.
  • Australian Carbon Credit Unit Scheme (ACCUs): ACCUs form a part of Australia’s current (though flawed) carbon market; the price per tonne of CO₂-e is currently around $36.
  • Biden-era Social Cost of Carbon: under President Biden the United States Environmental Protection Agency initially estimated a social cost of carbon of US$51. This is roughly equivalent to A$71, depending on how it is converted.
  • EU Emissions Trading Scheme: within the European Union’s carbon market, a tonne of carbon emissions has cost about €69.63 over the last two years. This is roughly equivalent to A$151 depending on how it is converted.
• Given this broad range of rates and potential revenues raised, we will estimate that the levy could raise up to $100 billion.
• Please note that this list is not a comprehensive list of carbon prices. Under the Biden Government, the United States Environmental Protection Agency proposed a social cost of carbon of US$190 (over A$250). Some scientific journals put the social cost of carbon even higher.

• For sources and more information, please refer to our report 'A climate disaster levy: Fairly funding the increasing costs of climate change'

Local governments face soaring cost of climate change

• Australia Institute analysis finds that the costs of climate change to local councils – such as repairing roads, drainage, parks and community facilities after floods, storms, and fires – are increasing far faster than local government revenue.
• The insured costs of climate change are now 12 times higher than 20 years ago, while local government revenue is only three times higher.
• Ratepayers shouldn't be expected to pay for the damage caused by coal, gas and oil companies. These huge, multinational companies that extract and export Australian resources are in a far better position to pay for the climate impacts than local councils. Gas and coal corporations have made huge profits recently, many pay little or no tax, and then leave Australians high and dry with the costs of disasters. 

SA Algal Bloom

• In 2025, South Australia's devastating algal bloom, triggered in part by a marine heatwave, spread across more than 500km of coastline, causing mass deaths of sea life, major disruptions to fisheries and aquaculture, and sparking public health alerts.
• As a result, the marine environment is in severe distress, fishing and tourism businesses are under extreme financial pressure, and it is clearer than ever that piecemeal responses won’t be enough.
• If the Government doesn’t act and implement a National Climate Disaster Levy, multinational fossil fuel corporations will keep pocketing massive profits, leaving Australian families and small businesses to shoulder the devastating costs of climate disaster time and again.

Image: The Australia Institute's call for change across South Australia’s main newspaper, with a full-page ad backed by thousands of supporters like you.