UN Chief urges oil companies to pay more taxes on profits

Jun 06, 2024 News

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…calls them godfather of climate chaos

Kaieteur News – During his address on World Environment Day, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged oil companies to pay higher taxes on their profits, labeling them the “godfathers of climate chaos.”

He criticised the fossil fuel industry’s role in obstructing climate progress and underscored the need for these companies to contribute significantly more to the global fight against climate change. Guterres first shared that the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Change Service officially reported that May 2024 as the hottest May in recorded history.   “This marks twelve straight months of the hottest months ever. For the past year, every turn of the calendar has turned up the heat. Our planet is trying to tell us something.  But we don’t seem to be listening,” he said.

The UN Chief said that like the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs, in the case of climate change – human beings are the meteor.  “We are not only in danger, we are the danger,” he added. Guterres said the truth is, it is almost 10 years since the Paris Agreement was adopted with the target of limiting long-term global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and the agreement is hanging by a thread.

He said the world is spewing emissions so far that by 2030, a higher temperature rise would be guaranteed, adding that at this, the entire carbon budget will be busted before 2030. New data from climate scientists shows that the remaining carbon budget to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is around 200 billion tonnes. According to Guterres, currently, about 40 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide is emitted annually, which could deplete the budget before 2030. To stay within the 1.5-degree limit, global emissions need to fall by nine percent each year until 2030.

“The cost of all this chaos is hitting people where it hurts. From supply-chains severed, to rising prices, mounting food insecurity, and uninsurable homes and businesses. That bill will keep growing,” the UN Chief said.

Guterres noted that climate change is the mother of all stealth taxes paid by everyday people and vulnerable countries and communities. “Meanwhile, the godfathers of climate chaos, the fossil fuel industry, rake in record profits and feast off trillions in taxpayer-funded subsidies,” he continued.

UN Guterres highlighted the urgent need for immediate action over the next eighteen months to ensure a secure future for people and the planet. He outlined key measures, including drastically cutting emissions, protecting both people and nature from climate extremes, increasing climate finance, and imposing stricter regulations on the fossil fuel industry. Guterres stressed that these steps are crucial for achieving a sustainable and safe future.

“It is a disgrace that the most vulnerable are being left stranded, struggling desperately to deal with a climate crisis they did nothing to create. We cannot accept a future where the rich are protected in air-conditioned bubbles, while the rest of humanity is lashed by lethal weather in unlivable lands,” Guterres stated.

As a first step, he said all developed countries must honour their commitment to double adaptation finance to at least US$40 billion a year by 2025. UN Chief Guterres highlighted the critical need for financial reform to address the climate crisis, noting that the current unequal financial flows are hindering progress.

Guterres called for a significant expansion of affordable public and private finance, urging reforms at the Summit of the Future, G7, and G20 Summits to leverage more private finance. He also stressed the need for substantial contributions to the Loss and Damage Fund and a strong finance outcome from COP29.

Additionally, he advocated for new sources of funds, such as carbon pricing and taxing windfall profits of fossil fuel companies, to fund climate action. He said, “It is [high] time to put an effective price on carbon and tax the windfall profits of fossil fuel companies.”

Added to this, Guterres called for a direct confrontation with the fossil fuel industry, criticising its long history of obstructing climate progress through misinformation and deception. He acknowledged the efforts of academics, activists, journalists, and whistleblowers who have exposed these tactics, often at great personal risk. Guterres urged fossil fuel leaders to transition to clean energy, noting that last year the industry spent a mere 2.5% of its capital on clean energy.

He highlighted that doubling down on fossil fuels is an outdated strategy and called on executives to use their profits to lead the energy transition. Financial institutions were also urged to stop funding fossil fuels and invest in renewables, presenting clear transition plans and disclosing climate risks. “Many in the fossil fuel industry have shamelessly greenwashed, even as they have sought to delay climate action, with lobbying, legal threats, and massive ad campaigns,” the UN Chief said.  He concluded by urging the public to make their voices heard and their choices count in the fight for a livable future.

 

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• António Guterres, tonnes of carbon, United Nations (UN) Secretary General, World Environment Day

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