Global coalition launches an open letter at the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings with the message: “They profit We pay Change it now.”

Jakarta, April 16, 2026 – As Finance ministers and Central Bank governors gather in Washington DC for the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, a coalition of more than 130 civil society organizations from around the world today published an open letter demanding world leaders to end the war in West Asia, tax the record profits of fossil fuel companies and arms manufacturers, and cancel the debt of countries bearing the burden of the crisis.

This letter signed by organizations across climate, social justice, gender, religious, labor movements, and other sectors emphasizes that a ceasefire alone is not enough and that the war must be ended totally and permanently. The letter argues that ordinary people are paying the price for a crisis they did not cause, while fossil fuel corporations and arms manufacturers are recording the highest profits in history.

According to 350.org, in just one month of war, more than USD 100 billion was taken from the public through soaring energy prices an amount sufficient to provide solar power to 150 million households. Instead, that money flowed into the profits of fossil fuel companies. Thousands of people have been killed in the Middle East, and communities across the Global South are bearing the shocks of a conflict they never chose: with their lives; with skyrocketing energy bills, rationed cooking fuel, soaring food prices; and governments entangled deeper in debt just to keep basic services running.

They profit. We pay. Time to change.

FOUR DEMANDS

The coalition calls on world leaders to immediately take the following four actions:

• End the war — Governments must guarantee a permanent end to the war and protect civilians.

• Make the profiteers pay — Make fossil fuel companies pay their fair share of the massive profits they pocket. Use these new tax revenues to guarantee public services and provide immediate support for vulnerable families and workers hardest hit by the surge in food and fuel prices.

• Secure food and energy for all — Invest public funds into local sustainable agriculture and renewable energy built in communities and homes, and stop the destructive flow of funds to the weapons, fossil fuel, and fossil-fueled fertilizer industries.

• Cancel the debt — Halt debt payments and agree on fairer global rules regarding debt. Support informal workers, peasant farmers, women, and elderly groups, and ensure universal access to healthcare, education, and public transportation.

STATEMENTS

Sisilia Nurmala Dewi, Indonesia Country Manager 350.org

“Moments of crisis never fail to expose our vulnerabilities. The geopolitical crisis resulting from this war underscores the weaknesses of the Indonesian economy caused by its dependence on fossil energy. It is time to take decisive steps in the energy transition, provide protection to citizens, and stop allowing profiteers of war and environmental destruction to keep amassing profits. The 'shock absorber' mechanism should be burdened upon them, not upon the public.

The IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings serve as an important momentum to shift direction: to ensure global policies stop exacerbating inequality, and to firmly push for taxes on excess profits and debt cancellation to protect people on the front lines of the crisis. The Indonesian government must not merely be an observer; it is time to take a firm stance, establish a windfall tax on the fossil fuel industry, and direct its revenues to strengthen public services and accelerate a just energy transition.”

Sigit K Budiono, Co-coordinator, Fighting Inequality Alliance Indonesia

“The worsening socio ecological crisis due to the war rooted in imperialism and the desire to maintain political-economic dominance has had widespread impacts on the people. Meanwhile, weapons and energy corporations continue to reap profits from this situation. Global dependence on fossil energy has yielded multiplied profits for fossil fuel corporations due to the surge in energy prices caused by the war. The same goes for arms manufacturing companies.

Conversely, vulnerable groups everywhere bear the heaviest burdens, ranging from casualties and injuries to the destruction of infrastructure and public services, as well as the loss of their living spaces in war zones. Similarly, economic impacts (inflation, food shortages, loss of livelihoods, etc.) to ecological impacts from emission spikes are also potentially felt by millions of people in various other parts of the world.

Looking at historical experience, Indonesia, which once initiated the Non-Aligned Movement, has the opportunity to initiate diplomacy, consolidation, and cooperation among Global South nations to push for an end to the war, halt fossil fuel dependence, and initiate talks to pave the way to overcome the crisis that is before our eyes and threatens the lives of millions of people in third world countries due to the war.”

Nadia Hadad, Executive Director, MADANI Berkelanjutan

“Every time a global crisis hits, the same pattern repeats: debt accumulates in the Global South, and forests become the last resource sacrificed to generate foreign exchange. Indonesia will not be able to meet its climate targets as long as debt pressures continue to drive the capitalization of every inch of land, and as long as fossil fuel corporations are free to reap profits from the instability they helped create without bearing the consequences.

Climate justice is not just about emissions; it is about who bears the cost and who enjoys the profits. A windfall tax and debt cancellation are two sides of the same imperative: giving countries like Indonesia the space to protect their forests without having to choose between ecology and the economic survival of their people.”

Hening Parlan, Director, Green Faith Indonesia

“Faith does not teach us to remain silent when injustice occurs. Today, we are witnessing a world turned upside down: wars continue, fossil fuel companies and the arms industry rake in excess profits, while the public especially in the Global Southis forced to pay the price for a crisis they did not create.

This is not just an economic or geopolitical crisis. This is a moral crisis.

In the perspective of faith, greed that destroys life and the earth is a violation of a sacred trust. There no ethical justification for a system that allows a select few to benefit from the suffering of many.

Climate justice demands concrete action: ending wars, taxing the excess profits of fossil fuel and arms companies, and cancelling the debt trapping vulnerable nations. Without that, we are merely prolonging the same injustice.

When they continue to profit and the people continue to pay, faith calls us not only to speak up but to urge change right now.”

ABOUT THE COALITION

This open letter is endorsed by more than 130 civil society organizations from various parts of the world. The complete list of signatories and the full text of the letter can be viewed at theyprofitwepay.org.