LAUSANNE, Aug 4 — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday slammed the “grotesque greed” of oil and gas companies and their financial backers and urged governments globally to “tax these excessive profits” to support the most vulnerable people.
The two largest US oil companies, Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N and Chevron Corp CVX.N, British-based Shell SHEL.L and France’s TotalEnergies TTEF.PA combined earned nearly US$51 billion in the most recent quarter, almost double what the group brought in for the year-ago period. “And I urge people everywhere to send a clear message to the fossil fuel industry and their financiers: that this grotesque greed is punishing the poorest and most vulnerable people, while destroying our only common home,” he said.
Last month, Britain passed a 25 per cent windfall tax on oil and gas producers in the North Sea. US lawmakers have discussed a similar idea, though it faces long odds in Congress.