---
title: Polluters broke it, we're paying for it
description: Sign the pact, record your story. Join the global movement to make polluters pay.
---

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# WHO PAYS FOR THE DAMAGE FROM EXTREME WEATHER?

From the flash-floods in Nepal, to Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka, the back-to-back floods and heatwaves across India; the frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change, has given us all whiplash.

Extreme weather events are causing widespread destruction and financial hardship. In fact, climate-related loss and damage in South Asia could cost **USD 518 billion by 2050**\[1\].

Across the globe, communities are paying the price for a climate crisis created by a handful of major polluters.

Mannar is one of them. As one of Sri Lanka's most climate-vulnerable districts, its coastal communities are already facing the fallout - from dwindling fish stocks and saltwater-damaged farmland to the loss of generational livelihoods.

# MAKE POLLUTERS PAY!

##### To: Governments in South Asia

Make big polluters like oil and gas companies pay their fair share for the damages they cause. Introduce new taxes or fines on them to help communities in South Asia and around the world rebuild from climate disasters and invest in climate solutions.

## WHO PAYS FOR THE DAMAGE FROM EXTREME WEATHER?

If you spill someone’s drink, you buy them another; if you break someone's window, you pay to fix it.

Then how come, every time a cyclone rips through a community, or water floods a home, or heatwaves drive up energy bills and hospital visits - **WE PAY THE PRICE?**

Meanwhile, the oil and gas companies responsible for fuelling extreme weather? **THEY PAY NOTHING.**

1. Oil and gas companies have known for decades that its operations drive climate change. Yet, instead of addressing the issue, they continue to make record profits, amounting to over  **US$2.8 BILLION in profits\[2\], every. single. day. (for the past 50 years).**
2. In fact, by the time you finish reading this sentence, fossil fuel companies will have  **just earned approximately $24,000\[3\].**
3. Governments have a duty to protect people and the planet.

As the world moves towards a fossil fuel phase-out, it is crucial to stop new oil and gas projects, and make oil and gas companies pay for the crisis they caused.

**By making polluters pay, we can:**

1. **Protect people’s health:** Fund emergency services to help communities during climate disasters.
2. **Equip first responders:** Provide the tools and resources needed to respond to escalating disasters like heatwaves and floods.
3. **Make homes and infrastructure climate-ready:** Strengthen homes and city infrastructure - roads, rail and utilities - to better withstand extreme weather.
4. **Provide a financial safety net:** Ensure disaster relief and rebuilding efforts are funded so families aren’t left paying the bill.

Sign the petition now, to demand that oil and gas companies pay for the climate crisis they created, and support a safe and fair future for all.

Sources:

\[1\] [South Asia faces irreversible loss from climate change | IDR](http://idronline.org/article/climate-emergency/south-asia-faces-irreversible-loss-from-climate-change/)

\[2\] [The geopolitics of trillion US$ oil & gas rents](https://journals.aau.dk/index.php/sepm/article/view/7395/6295)

\[3\] [Giant fossil fuel companies made about $12,000 in the time it took you to read this headline | CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/27/climate/fossil-fuel-companies-profits-war-conflict)

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