["As a bare minimum, a windfall tax on the combined profits of the
largest oil and gas companies—estimated at almost $100bn in the
first three months of the year—needs to be enacted." ]
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MAJOR MEDIA OUTLETS FROM 20+ NATIONS DEMAND WINDFALL PROFITS TAX ON
BIG OIL  
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Jake Johnson
November 15, 2022
Common Dreams
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_ "As a bare minimum, a windfall tax on the combined profits of the
largest oil and gas companies—estimated at almost $100bn in the
first three months of the year—needs to be enacted." _

Demonstrators read spoof newspapers with climate crisis messages in
London on October 3, 2022, Martin Pope/Getty Images

 

MORE THAN 30 MAJOR media outlets from countries on nearly every
continent published an editorial Tuesday calling on governments to
impose a windfall profits tax on fossil fuel giants that have made a
killing as poor nations face devastating climate impacts and people
worldwide struggle to heat their homes, feed their families, and pay
rent.

"As a bare minimum, a windfall tax on the combined profits of the
largest oil and gas companies—estimated at almost $100bn in the
first three months of the year—needs to be enacted," reads the
editorial
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which appeared at _The Guardian _in the U.K., _The Nation_ and
_Rolling Stone_ in the U.S., _The Hindu_ in India, _Camunda News_ in
Angola, _El Espectador_ in Colombia, and dozens of other publications.

"The United Nations was right to call for the cash to be used to
support the most vulnerable. But such a levy would only be the start,"
the editorial continues. "Poor nations also carry debts that make it
impossible to recover after climate-related disasters or protect
themselves from future ones. Creditors should be generous in writing
off loans for those on the frontline of the climate emergency."

The joint call from dozens of media organizations based in more than
20 countries comes as world leaders gather in Egypt for COP27 and
officials from the largest economies convene in Indonesia for the
latest round of G20 talks.

The failure of rich nations such as the U.S.
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the U.K., and Canada to live up to their "loss and damage" commitments
to poor countries suffering the worst impacts of the climate crisis
has been central to the COP27 conference. The leaders of small-island
countries
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and the head of the United Nations have argued that a windfall profits
tax on the large polluters responsible for planet-warming emissions
could be used to fund badly needed climate aid.

"Profligate producers of fossil fuels have benefited from extortionate
profits at the expense of human civilization," Gaston Browne, the
prime minister of Antigua, said
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in a speech last week. "While they are profiting, the planet is
burning."

While some countries, including the U.K., have imposed windfall taxes
on oil and gas giants, they've thus far been limited and carried
minimal impacts for fossil fuel companies such as Chevron, Exxon,
Shell, and BP, which continue to post record-shattering profits
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as people around the world face high prices at the pump.

During its earnings call last month, Shell executives said the company
has yet to pay any windfall taxes
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in the U.K. despite its sky-high profits over the past year.

In his remarks
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at the opening of COP27 last week, U.N. Secretary-General António
Guterres urged "all governments" to "tax the windfall profits of
fossil fuel companies" and "redirect that money to people struggling
with rising food and energy prices and to countries suffering loss and
damage caused by the climate crisis."

"The deadly impacts of climate change are here and now," said
Guterres. "Loss and damage can no longer be swept under the rug. It is
a moral imperative. It is a fundamental question of international
solidarity—and climate justice. Those who contributed least to the
climate crisis are reaping the whirlwind sown by others."

The editorial published by major media outlets on Tuesday echoed that
message, noting that "the world's poorest people will bear the brunt
of the destruction wreaked by drought, melting ice sheets, and crop
failures."

"To shield these groups from the loss of life and livelihoods will
require money," the editorial states. "Developing countries, says one
influential report, need $2 trillion annually to cut their greenhouse
gas emissions and cope with climate breakdown."

"Rich countries account for just one in eight people in the world
today but are responsible for half of greenhouse gases," the editorial
continues. "These nations have a clear moral responsibility to help.
Developing nations should be given enough cash to address the
dangerous conditions they did little to create—especially as a
global recession looms."

===

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel
free to republish and share widely.

* Windfall Tax on Oil; Impacts of Climate Change; COP27;
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