Global climate leaders will present 2 million strong “Make Polluters Pay” petitions to the United Nations during its forthcoming General Assembly (UNGA). The petitions with more than two million signatures are a push back after a season of fires, floods and fossil-fuel shocks, which will call on governments to make fossil fuel companies pay for climate damage.
World leaders will on 21 September gather in New York for the UN General Assembly and New York climate week. And campaigners from around the world will come together to jointly present global petitions carrying more than 2 million signatures calling on governments to “Make Polluters Pay”.
The petitions will be formally presented to Selwin Hart, assistant secretary-general for Climate Action at the United Nations, by leaders from 350.org, Greenpeace International, Oxfam International and Fossil Free Media, alongside frontline campaigners and communities.
Among speakers for the climate action campaign groups include Amitabh Behar executive director, Oxfam International, Anne Jellema, executive director, 350.org, Jamie Henn, executive director Fossil Free Media, and Mads Christensen, executive director, Greenpeace International.
The campaigners are, in particular, calling on governments to introduce binding measures that make fossil-fuel companies contribute to the costs of the damage they have caused, including climate damages taxes, surtaxes on fossil-fuel profits and fines to fund recovery, adaptation and a just transition.
The petition presentation comes as governments prepare to discuss global security, resilience and economic stability at UNGA, and less than three months before governments meet to negotiate ways to close the public international climate finance gap owed to Global South countries at UN climate talks in Turkey and Global Tax Treaty talks in Kenya.
The public international climate finance gap demanded by Global South coalitions and civil society organizations is at least $5 trillion per year, contrasted with historical estimates showing wealthy nations owe upwards of $192 trillion in climate reparations by 2050.
After a season marked by devastating wildfires, floods and deadly climate disasters, and continuing global energy insecurity linked to dependence on oil and gas, campaigners say the message to governments is simple: we are breaching 1.5°C, and the need for urgent action has never been clearer.
A new UNEP report confirmed the world will exceed 1.5°C in the next few years, underscoring the urgent need to cut fossil fuel use and accelerate the transition to clean energy to minimise the magnitude and duration of this overshoot.
The petitions have one message: We pay. They profit. It’s time to change that.
Heads of three global organisations 350.org, Greenpeace International and Oxfam International, alongside frontline campaigners and communities, will present petitions gathered across countries and regions to Selwin Hart Assistant secretary-general for Climate Action at the United Nations.
The action will highlight the growing gap between the costs being borne by ordinary people and the extraordinary profits continuing to flow to fossil-fuel companies who are causing climate destruction.
The combined profits of eight of the world’s largest oil producers hit $93 billion in the second quarter of 2026, driven by soaring energy prices amid conflict involving Iran. Net income breakdown shows ExxonMobil made $14.53 billion (doubled year-over-year), Chevron: $12.10 billion (nearly quadrupled year-over-year), Shell: $9.80 billion, BP: $5.73 billion (underlying replacement cost profit), ConocoPhillips: $3.90 billion. Other majors (Saudi Aramco, TotalEnergies, Equinor, and Eni): comprised the remaining balance of the combined $93 billion total.
Meanwhile, citizens face high prices of goods and services, costing over $100 million monthly. Economic assessments from Moody’s Analytics indicate that the conflict has cost US consumers an extra $121 billion on energy alone since it erupted, translating to an average added expense of $930 per household strictly for direct energy costs.
On a global scale, in total, the oil shock is projected to shave roughly $145 billion off global consumer spending as families are forced to divert cash from retail goods to baseline energy survival.
Campaigners will, therefore, argue that there can be no meaningful conversation about security or climate justice while economies remain exposed to volatile fossil-fuel markets and communities are left to carry the costs of climate disruption. Ending our dependence on fossil fuels and investing in renewable energy is the only real security measure.
