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Windfall tax on oil companies called for to tackle climate change
26 July 2005
A windfall tax on oil company profits to help address climate change has been called for by Friends of the Earth in response to today's announcement of record first-half profits for BP of $10.47 billion US dollars (£6b).
The environmental organisation says a windfall tax would allow the Chancellor to increase investment in renewable technologies and wants Gordon Brown to give renewables a massive boost in the pre-budget this autumn. The call is part of Friends of the Earth's climate change campaign, "The Big Ask" - www.thebigask.com.
Friends of the Earth's Economics spokesman Simon Bullock said:
"A windfall tax on oil companies' profits could be invested in renewable technology and would show the Government to be leading the way in addressing climate change. Moving the focus of our economy from oil to renewables could see the UK as a world centre for innovation."
Friends of the Earth is also calling on the Government to stop investing tax-payers money in oil corporations' new projects which fuel climate change.
Past investments include the UK Government approving hundreds of millions of pounds of tax payers' money to help BP build the environmentally destructive Baku Tblisi Ceyhan oil pipeline. A decision is yet to be made about giving Shell hundreds of millions of pounds to build the Sakhalin oil pipeline in Russia.
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jun 2008
