Climate change experts have advocated the urgent need for greenhouse gas emissions reduction amid worsening climate conditions globally.

In an event hosted by organisations 350.org and Stamp out Poverty, different climate change experts stressed the need to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate damage, especially on vulnerable communities.

The event, chaired by Megan Rowling of Climate Home News, featured climate change experts, activists and others who shared their opinions against the backdrop of the most extreme heatwaves in the United Kingdom.

The discussion highlighted how windfall taxes, closing tax loopholes, and a wave of climate litigation are beginning to challenge the power of oil, gas and coal companies with billions already at stake. 

Harjeet Singh, who represented fossil fuel non-proliferation initiative, said fossil fuels had continued to wreak havoc on the world, stressing the need for them to pay to mitigate their impacts.

“The conversation has shifted. We can clearly see how an economy dependent on fossil fuels is wrecking the world. At the same time, fossil fuel companies continue to make staggering profits while claiming there is no money available to address climate impacts. This isn’t only about profits; it’s also about the subsidies that continue to flow towards them. We need to call out the perpetrators. These polluters are responsible, and they need to pay,” Mr Singh said.

Another climate expert, Laurel Kivuyo, decried the gender impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities, especially women, highlighting the need for justice.

She noted, “When I think about communities already paying the price of climate change, I don’t think first about the reports or the big numbers. I think about the young women I work with every day. These communities have contributed very little to the climate crisis, yet they bear the brunt of its impacts. This is about more than climate injustice. We are talking about gender inequality, systemic inequality and people’s ability to survive.”

Stressing the need for enormous funds to mitigate the effects, Ms Kivuyo added that countries must learn local knowledge and community-led solutions that were already working.

According to a representative from the U.S. Make Polluters Pay Coalition, Jamie Henn, people are living through the climate crisis every day and deserve justice.

He stated, “When someone has lost their home or seen their insurance costs soar because of climate-fuelled disasters, they don’t need a science lecture. They need justice.”

Also, Savio Carvalho lamented that ordinary people were paying three times over for fossil fuels, through their taxes, their bills and the damage to their lives, while the industry profits, adding that oil companies polluters must be held accountable to unlock the finance needed for affordable, clean energy and a just transition.

“From climate superfund laws in the United States to windfall taxes in Europe and litigation from France to the Philippines, what looks like scattered, separate wins is in fact one movement taking shape,” Mr Carvalho, a representative of 350.org stated.

All the speakers emphasised that making polluters pay was not only about accountability, but about unlocking the scale of finance needed to support vulnerable communities, invest in clean energy, and build resilience amid worsening climate extremes.