As the world continues to struggle under the pressures of disease outbreaks, climate disasters and war, United Secretary-General António Guterres Wednesday slammed the oil and gas industry for “grotesque greed.”
He said this greed is “punishing the poorest and most vulnerable people while destroying our only common home, the planet.”
Guterres said that the combined profits from top energy companies for the first quarter were close to $100 billion. He urged governments to tax these “excessive, scandalous profits in the oil and gas industry in a moment in which all of us are losing money.”
In the U.S., gas prices have soared this year, and are still close to a $1 more per gallon than they were this time last year, per AAA data. In addition to pandemic-related supply chain issues, the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in February has contributed to a gas price hike, according to U.S. President Joe Biden.
“The simple truth is gas prices are up almost $2 a gallon because of Vladimir Putin’s ruthless attack on Ukraine, and we wouldn’t let him get away with it,” Biden said in June. Even so, recent earnings reports from oil companies show that they have been raking in record earnings, according to The New York Times.
For example, Exxon and Chevron both released earnings reports this month that showed a spike in profits.
In mid-July, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who serves as chair of the tax-writing Finance Committee, proposed a tax on oil company profits, according to Bloomberg. However, the outlet said that the White House was wary of the impact a tax might have on supply and that the GOP was likely to oppose the measure.
“With oil and gas prices as high as they are, the profit results could increase political pressure on oil companies to do more to boost production and lower costs to consumers,” The New York Times said in late July. “They have already faced harsh criticism from political leaders, including President Biden, over the windfall earnings at a time when consumer prices in the United States are spiking.”
While some oil companies said last month that they would expand production, they also announced share buyback programs to reward shareholders, the outlet reported.
“It is immoral for oil and gas companies to be making record profits from these energy crises on the back of the poorest people in communities and at a massive cost to the climate,” Guterres said Wednesday.
He said all countries, especially developed nations such as the U.S., should prioritize energy demand management by conserving energy as well as promoting public transportation and nature-based solutions. Guterres also said nations should work to scale up supply chains for raw materials and renewable energy technologies, support their people with social protections and invest in renewable energy.
According to the Urban Institute think tank, reducing the need for fuel by turning to options such as walking, biking, and public transportation in the U.S. is a challenge.
“The reality is that most U.S. residents live in communities where those options either are not available or are so difficult to use that they have little choice but to continue spending a lot on cars,” said the institute. “And many families with low incomes simply cannot afford living in communities where walkability and transit access are easily available.”
“There is no place for hypocrisy,” as the people around the globe are also subject to the impact of storms, wildfires, floods, heat waves and droughts exacerbated by climate change, Guterres said of the current energy situation.
Vehicles that burn “fossil fuels like gasoline and diesel releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “The buildup of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases like methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) is causing the Earth’s atmosphere to warm, resulting in changes to the climate we are already starting to see today.”
This summer, the White House announced plans for tackling climate change including partnerships to expand renewable energy resources.
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