Who is already backing the The Polluters Pay Pact?
People from around the world are experiencing worsening heat, storms, fires and rising sea levels first-hand. Coming together, they refuse to be victims of polluting giants.
Oil and gas corporations have lobbied, deceived and profited as the climate crisis worsens. Now ordinary people, from all walks of life, are doing something truly special. They are uniting around the Polluters Pay Pact to say: governments must recover what is owed from dirty energy companies like, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, Equinor, Woodside, Energy Transfer, ENI, or OMV.
Read more about the stories behind the faces.
Sandeep Verma, India
”Under the blistering sun, India’s frontline workers brave deadly heat with no shelter, no relief — while the oil barons who drive this crisis sit untouched in air-conditioned towers of power. This is not just heat — this is injustice. And the workers are rising, united in one voice: enough is enough!”
More than ten groups and unions representing workers across India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal have signed the Polluters Pay Pact. Sandeep represents the Youth Organisation for Democratic Development and Help in Action (YODDHA).
At the moment, oil and gas companies aren’t made to pay for the relief effort nor to compensate workers for lost income – the Polluters Pay Pact calls for that to change.
Read the press release: Worker groups demand polluters pay for lost income, amid deadly South Asia heatwave to learn more about Sandeep and the campaign in South Asia.
Ben Van Bunderen Robberechts, Belgium
“My friend Rosa was swept away by floods, and I couldn’t save her. That night, 220 people died. Meanwhile, the oil and gas companies fueling this crisis keep making billions.”
Europe’s flood defenses are woefully inadequate and Ben’s friend, Rosa, paid with her life. Shortly after Rosa’s death in Belgium, 2021, when he was just 14 years old, Ben became a climate justice activist and advocate. He founded The Climate Justice for Rosa campaign.
That is why Ben is demanding that Governments act now, to stop the dependency on fossil fuels and to make the polluters pay for the adaptation and recovery desperately needed.
Vishal Prasad, Fiji
“For us, it is a matter of survival. Vulnerable communities who did not cause the climate crisis are already experiencing the most severe impacts of it.”
Vishal is from the Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change, who are campaigning for an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice on climate change and human rights.
Vanishing coastlines, endangered nations, forced migration, cultural practices lost; money will never be able to replace so much of what is lost.
But when disaster strikes there are bills to be paid. And the polluting corporations should be made to pay what is due.
Read the blog: A Journey of Resilience: Taking the climate fight to the International Court of Justice to learn more about the struggle to demand climate justice at the highest court in the world.
Greg Mullins, Australia
“I have fought fires for over 50 years and have seen firsthand how climate pollution is supercharging fires in Australia and across the globe… It is time that companies making huge profits from polluting coal, oil and gas – start to pay for the damage they are doing.”
The 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires devastated communities across Australia and stretched emergency services to their limit. Greg was the Commissioner of Fire & Rescue New South Wales, Australia.
Daniel Gutierrez Govino, Brazil
“I am a volunteer forest firefighter. My experience with climate change is intense…. We are on the front lines of combating forest fires in our community and help other communities establish groups like ours…. We are not paid by the government, we are not military, we are volunteers.”
Daniel Gutierrez Govino is one of the founders of the Alter do Chão Fire Brigade, in the Amazon, Brazil.
They are a group of brave first responders, who have joined the Polluters Pay Pact.
Read the blog: We risk our lives facing Amazon wildfires. What will politicians risk to make the polluters behind them pay to learn more about first responders and firefighters supporting the Polluters Pay Pact.
Elisabeth Stern and Pia Hollenstein, Switzerland
“Our win in the courts have shown that old women are also a force to be reckoned with! I am joining the Polluters Pay Pact to say, the way Governments handle polluters can not go on as it is. Our planet is not here to make a few rich men even richer.”
“There is no medicine for high temperatures. A climate strategy for the healthcare sector is absolutely necessary,” explains Pia, a retired nurse.
Elisabeth and Pia are part of a group of older Swiss women called the KlimaSeniorinnen who won a landmark climate case in the European Court of Human Rights.
The women, mostly in their 70s, said that their age and gender made them particularly vulnerable to the effects of heatwaves linked to climate change. The court said Switzerland’s efforts to meet its emission reduction targets had been woefully inadequate.
There are many legal cases around the world to hold oil and gas companies accountable. The polluters pay principle has for decades been a tool to hold corporations to account – and now must be applied to climate pollution.
Nonhle Mbuthuma Forslund, South Africa
“Oil drilling is destroying the planet, but it’s also destroying communities like mine living in areas near fossil fuel developments. If we do nothing, our communities will be forced to leave their ancestral homes, with no compensation. We are demanding that fossil fuel companies like Shell stop drilling, shift to renewable energy and start paying for the damage they’ve done.”
Nonhle is an advocate for the right of communities to say no to destructive development on ancestral land. She has won the Goldman Environmental Prize.
Now she has joined the Polluters Pay Pact. The oil and gas companies must stop drilling as well as start paying for the damage they have caused.
In 2023 she took part in a protest at sea against a Shell platform as it headed for a major oil and gas field. Read the blog: People power stopped Shell in South Africa to learn more about her motivations.
Dennis Todorov and Boyan Mitov, Bulgaria
Boyan: “People in my country are already being displaced from their homes. I choose to be on the ground, helping to fight fires and extreme weather. It should be the fossil fuel companies that must pay.”
Dennis: “In the last 10 years we’ve seen in Bulgaria many big floods, forest fires and droughts that not only were destructive for nature and species living in it, but also they impacted people directly with many losing their homes or in the worst case scenario with the price of human lives that was paid in several floods where there were casualties and also in forest fires.”
These trained first responders partner with firefighters when fires hit. They also work for Greenpeace Bulgaria running training sessions for other volunteers.
Read the blog: We risk our lives facing Amazon wildfires. What will politicians risk to make the polluters behind them pay to learn more about first responders and firefighters supporting the Polluters Pay Pact.
Jimmy Ceguerra, Philippines
“Here in Barangay Tumana, Marikina, we experienced severe flooding during Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana), and again during Typhoon Ulysses (Vamco) and again with Carina (Gaemi). The previous interval of ten to eleven years between such events has now shrunk to about four years. The impact of these disasters is profound, highlighting the need for action against climate change.
“If I were face-to-face with the CEOs and owners of fossil fuel companies, I would tell them that science has proven their business is a major contributor to global warming. They must pay; it is simply not just”.
Jimmy is a typhoon survivor and community leader in his Barangay (or district), and a former Barangay councilor.
The Philippine parliament is considering a Climate Accountability (CLIMA) Bill, the first of its kind in the Global South, that could hold polluters accountable for climate damages in the country.
The Philippines is highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters, and extreme weather events have caused significant loss of life and damage to homes and communities.
Read the blog: From Manila to LA: How Greenpeace is turning Make Polluters Pay into law to learn more about the Climate Accountability (CLIMA) Bill.
Mayor Maria Rochelle G. Mergal, Philippines
“Coming from one of the communities hardest hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), I wholeheartedly support the Polluters Pay Pact. We lost 29 people. It was one of the strongest storms ever recorded.
After Yolanda, many fishing communities, like Maliwaliw went through long and excruciating periods of recovery.
Because of this, we pushed for the passage of a historic resolution stating that our town supports climate accountability measures.If fossil fuel companies that harm the environment continue to benefit from our misfortune, there might come a time that we might not be able to recover.”
Maria is the current Municipal Mayor of Salcedo, Eastern Samar, Philippines.
She helped pass a historic resolution on climate accountability. The Resolution, the very first of its kind in the Philippines, seeks “accountability for conduct directly contributing to climate change and its consequent impacts on the people of the Municipality of Salcedo,” and directs the local government to “pursue any and all actions on behalf of the people of Salcedo for the losses and damages inflicted upon the communities due to the impacts of extreme weather events.”
Read the press release from Greenpeace Philippines: Salcedo, Eastern Samar passes historic resolution on climate accountability to learn more about the Resolution.
Anna Lyn Dialde, Philippines
“We are experiencing stronger and more frequent typhoons. What used to be occasional severe weather events are now becoming the norm. Super Typhoon Odette in 2021 devastated many of our communities, homes, schools, and livelihoods. They were wiped out overnight. What kind of future will the youth inherit if companies that destroy the environment continue to ignore their contribution to climate change? The Polluters Pay Pact is our call to the world: support us and hold polluters accountable.“
Anna is a Board Member at the Provincial Government of Dinagat Islands, Philippines. This was one of the areas worst-hit by Super Typhoon Odette (Rai) last December 2021. It affected 34,000 families; 14,500 houses totally destroyed; 8,000 fishing boats totally damaged; and 1.4 million coconut trees destroyed.
Anna has worked with Greenpeace South East Asia and other organisations in taking climate action through installation of solar panels in her community
Nicole Doctor, Philippines
“It’s so unfair. I live near the river, where floods weren’t as common before. But as time went on, calamities have gotten far worse. There have been a lot of changes. Intense storms are now ravaging our communities even during times of the year when it’s not expected.”
We are appalled that fossil fuel companies rake in profits while our communities are left to suffer the consequences.
I support the Polluters Pay Pact. Through collective action, we have a better chance at holding accountable corporations who destroy the environment.”
From San Mateo, Rizal, Philippines, Nicole is the President of the youth environmental group Buklod Kabataan (in English: United Youth).
Heidi Harmon, USA
“I grew up in Southern California and just watched my hometown burn. As a mother, I fear for my children’s future in the face of escalating climate disasters. As a former mayor, I know cities don’t have the resources to withstand the damage caused by the fossil fuel industry. That’s why I support Make Polluters Pay legislation—because our communities can’t afford to foot the bill.”
From California, USA, Heidi’s own family was impacted by the 2025 fire in Altadena, and her aunt Dale’s home burned to the ground. Heidi now works for Greenpeace USA.
In the US, ‘climate superfund’ laws and related litigation involve State efforts to hold fossil fuel companies financially responsible for damages caused by climate change. These efforts aim to recover costs from companies that have contributed to greenhouse gas emissions. These initiatives pose such a threat to the fossil fuel industry the Trump administration is fighting back.
These are just a few examples of the people raising the pressure on governments to make polluters – not people – pay for the climate crisis. If enough of us join the Polluters Pay Pact now, we can unite climate-impacted communities, concerned citizens, first responders like fire fighters, politicians, humanitarian groups, economists and campaign organisations so that it becomes impossible for governments to ignore!
There has never been a better time to push for action. Join and share the Polluters Pay Pact now so that we can work together and make this a reality!
Polluters Pay Pact
Sign the pact, record your story. Join the global movement to make polluters pay.
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Sophie Allain www.greenpeace.org
