What is a solidarity levy?

Solidarity levies are coordinated but nationally administered taxes, earmarked for global public goods such as climate mitigation and adaptation.

Unlike global tax proposals, solidarity levies function within the framework of national sovereignty. Revenues are collected domestically but earmarked for shared international goals. They thus offer a middle ground between voluntary aid and binding regulatory frameworks, allowing coalitions of willing countries to take the lead with actionable redistributive mechanisms.

While existing solidarity levies have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach, they remain limited in scale and participation. The Global Solidarity Levies Taskforce calls for greater international collaboration to establish more substantial and widely supported solidarity levies.

Existing Solidarity Mechanisms

This non-exhaustive list highlights examples of existing solidarity levies used to fund global public goods.

UNITAID Airline Ticket Levy

Launched by France in 2006
A solidarity levy on airline tickets, with part of the revenue going to UNITAID, a global health initiative whiched funds HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis programs.
The coalition of participating countries expanded to 10 as of 2016: Cameroon, Chile, Republic of Congo, France, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger and South Korea.
Certain countries, such as Brazil and Norway, have adopted special mechanisms to make budgetary contributions.
The tax has raised over $2 billion since its inception, providing substantial financing for health programs in developing countries.

UNITLIFE Extractives Levy

Established in 2015 by the Republic of Congo, Niger, Mali, and Guinea.
A small levy on revenues from oil, gas, gold, and other mining activities.
The revenue from these extractives levies are intended to fund UNITLIFE, a UN-backed initiative aimed at fighting malnutrition and spuring growth in sub-Saharan Africa.

Fiji’s Environment & Climate Adaptation Levy

A tax introduced in alignment to Fiji’s recognition of the importance of safeguarding the environment and the impact the economy has had on climate change.
Between its inception and April 2019, ECAL collected approximately FJ$270.2 million, with FJ$255.9 million allocated to finance 102 projects addressing climate change and environmental conservation.

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