New York City, 5 August 2022 (TDI): On Wednesday, the UN General Secretary, António Guterres, called on all the governments and asked them to impose taxes on Oil and gas companies.
It is immoral for oil & gas companies to be making record profits from the current energy crisis on the backs of the poorest, at a massive cost to the climate.
I urge all governments to tax these excessive profits & use the funds to support the most vulnerable people.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 3, 2022
His remarks come as rising energy prices, fueled by the Ukraine conflict, drive industry profits to new highs.
War in Ukraine exacerbated a global oil and gas shortage, disrupting the world’s access to oil and gas from Russia, a major supplier, and driving up prices. While households are dealing with higher energy bills, businesses are benefiting.
Guterres called it “immoral” for businesses to profit from the crisis. Further, he adds that it is immoral for oil and gas companies to make record profits from the current energy crisis on the backs of the poorest.
He asked all the governments to use the funds to assist the most vulnerable individuals.
The largest energy companies
In a tweet on Thursday, he shared that in the first quarter of this year, the combined profits of the largest energy companies were close to $100 billion.
The combined profits of the largest energy companies in the first quarter of this year are close to $100 billion.
This grotesque greed of the fossil fuel industry and their financiers is punishing the poorest and most vulnerable people, while destroying our only home.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 4, 2022
British Oil and Gas Company (BP) recently reported its highest profit in 14 years, while Shell’s profits in the April-to-June period set a new high.
Exxon, Chevron, Shell, and TotalEnergies earned nearly $51 billion in the most recent quarter, nearly doubling what they earned in the same period last year.
In order of this report, António Guterres added that the fossil fuel industry’s and their financiers’ grotesque greed is punishing the poorest and most vulnerable people while destroying the only home.
Guterres warned that rising energy prices would have far-reaching consequences as households and governments buckled under the strain.
Further, he stated that many developing countries, which are drowning in debt, have no access to finance, and are struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, are on the verge of collapse.
The World is already seeing warning signs of an economic, social, and political upheaval that will affect every country.
