Guterres criticizes oil and gas companies’

• Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, has asked that oil and gas companies be taxed in a different way.
• His comments come at a time when profits in the industry are at all-time highs because the war in Ukraine has caused energy prices to go up.
• Mr. Guterres said that companies making money off of the crisis was “immoral.

Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, has asked that oil and gas companies be taxed in a different way.

His comments come at a time when profits in the industry are at all-time highs because the war in Ukraine has caused energy prices to go up.

Mr. Guterres said that companies making money off of the crisis was “immoral.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February has made the world’s oil and gas shortage worse by making it harder to get oil and gas from Russia, a major supplier, and driving up prices.

While people have to deal with higher energy bills, businesses are making more money.

Shell’s profits from April to June hit a record, and BP just reported its biggest profit in 14 years.

Together, Exxon, Chevron, Shell, and TotalEnergies made almost $51 billion in the last quarter. This is almost double what they made in the same time last year.

Mr. Guterres said, “This grotesque greed hurts the poorest and most vulnerable people while destroying the only place we all share.”

He said, “I urge all governments to tax these huge profits and use the money to help the most vulnerable people get through these hard times.”

The UK passed a 25% “windfall tax” on energy companies last month. This is a one-time tax that the government says will bring in about £25bn to help with rising energy bills for homes.

Some other countries, like Italy, have also done the same thing.

French parliamentarians recently rejected this notion, and there’s little political movement in the US, even if some senators have supported a windfall tax.

Mr. Guterres cautioned that individuals and governments would cave in to high energy costs, which would have many implications.

“Many poor nations might go bankrupt because they’re so in debt, can’t receive money, and are still recovering from COVID-19,” he warned. “There are indicators of a global economic, social, and political upheaval.”

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