Increase in fossil fuel profits is “morally unacceptable”

O uN Secretary-General António Guterres today condemned the increase in profits from fossil fuels that he considers “morally unacceptable”, urging governments to accelerate the transition away from oil, coal and gas.

“ Governments must protect the interests of their citizens, not those of a group of companies,” he told AFP in a COP31 interview, the main UN climate conference in Antalya, Turkey, until 20 November.

António Guterres said that countries cannot develop new fossil fuels while claiming to be combating climate change, including summit organisers, Turkey and Australia. At the climate conference, which began on Monday, there were old divisions in relation to fossil fuels, among those countries which advocate a faster gradual elimination of oil, gas and coal and those who defend their right to exploit these resources.

Negotiations take place in the midst of an energy crisis linked to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, which has triggered the price of diesel, fertilizer and other essential goods.

António Guterres considered “absurd” and “morally unacceptable” that nine large fossil fuel companies had profited $95 billion in a single quarter thanks to these price increases, while ordinary people struggle to pay for heating and fuel.

“ We are talking about powerful interests that are not easy to overcome,” he said at his last climate summit as head of the United Nations. “Governments must protect the interests of their people, not those of a group of companies,” he insisted, referring to oil and gas companies, which are often in their sights.

For the person responsible for this means no new fossil fuel project, even if the sector groups are exerting joint pressure on political leaders to protect their investments.

“ No new fossil fuel project makes sense,” said the former Portuguese Prime Minister, 77, who will leave the position of Secretary-General in December, after 10 years ahead of the organization. “Obviously, I would prefer all countries present in this COP to adopt this position, including the organizers,” he said.

Turkey, the host country, welcomed the discovery of new oil fields at the opening of the conference. And Australia, responsible for the COP31 negotiations, is being criticized for approving the expansion of coal mines.

The wars in Ukraine and Iran, a pandemic and the paralysis of the Security Council tested the diplomatic capabilities of António Guterres, who in the matter of fossil fuels seldom held back.

He denounced “the sponsors of climate chaos,” accusing the lobby of oil and gas of “killing the planet” and governments of “subsidizing suicide” by supporting industry.

At COP31 neither Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese nor conference president Murat Kurum mentioned the term “fossil fuels” — the main cause of global warming — once in their opening speeches to world leaders on Wednesday.

On the contrary, António Guterres was greeted with enthusiastic applause when he called for the disappearance of fossil fuels “like dinosaurs” and criticized governments for hindering the development of clean energy.

“ This is an existential threat, we cannot minimize it. And I think we need to use a language that is clear enough for people to understand that now we are really facing a serious risk,” he said about his provocative statements.