Martin Tye
WHEN it comes to environmental news there are always surprises. Sadly some are not pleasant.
Shell, the oil and gas giant, has reported outrageous annual profits of $ 39.9 billion in 2022.
These figures are the highest ever recorded in Shell’s 115 years of existence .
Quite frankly this corporate greed leaves me feeling sick.
Energy prices soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile households struggle with escalating prices and are having to make some very difficult choices.
Heat your home or eat? Scandalous.
Governments have talked about levying windfall taxes. This at first sight seems a sensible approach ……. until you look at how small these taxes are.
The UK government billed Shell a windfall tax in 2022 of $134 million.
How does that sit with profits of $39. 9 billion? Laughable.
And it gets worse when you peel back the layers. Shell is a UK headquartered company. It pays more to its shareholders than it spends on renewable investments. How can that be right?
In the UK, Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt both indicated that there are no plans to increase windfall tax .
And they allow corporate giants like Shell to consistently avoid paying tax. They allow them to offset against taxable profits things like decommissioning North Sea oil platforms.
They should be taxed for lack of investment in renewable solutions …particularly wind and solar.
It’s criminal that fossil fuel companies making bumper profits are let off the hook.
I’m not the biggest fan of Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, but he nailed it last week when he declared ‘No company should be making these kind of outrageous profits out of Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine’.
Green projects boost economic growth
Not only is investing in renewable technologies the right moral choice, it makes economic sense.
The CBI released a report last week claiming that 840,000 jobs have been created through investment in the fight to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
And that’s just in the UK .
In America, landmark legislation called the Inflation Reduction Act has set aside $369 billion to tackle climate change .
It’s about time Spain and other so-called developed countries got their finger out .
Martin Tye is the owner of energy switch company Mariposa Energy. Contact him on +34 638145664 or email him at [email protected]
READ MORE:
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- Spain to close SEVEN coal power stations as EU clamps down on fossil fuel production
