Labour must close windfall tax loopholes
The new Labour government must close all of the windfall tax loopholes and end the corporate giveaways to fossil fuel giants, say the Scottish Greens, who have called for the funds to be invested in a green transition for workers and communities.
The call, from the party’s Co-leader Patrick Harvie, comes as BP reports an eye-watering profits for Q2 2024.
The current windfall tax, introduced by the Tories, includes a perverse mechanism that allows oil and gas producers to get 91p in tax relief for every £1 they invest in new UK operations.
Mr Harvie said: “These results may be good news for BP, but they are disastrous for our planet.
“Climate breakdown is happening all around us, but fossil fuel giants like BP are making a killing. They are profiteering while the world is burning around them.
“The supertanker-sized loopholes in the windfall tax are no accident. The Tories put them there on purpose to encourage even more of the drilling that has already done so much to destroy our climate.
“With a new Labour government in Downing Street, these corporate giveaways must be ended, bringing in billions of pounds to tackle the cost of living crisis and fund a green transition for our communities.
“The Tories have shown 14 years of contempt for our environment. The new government cannot keep repeating the same failed policies. It’s time for a whole new approach that focuses on our vast renewable potential rather than encouraging even more drilling.
“If we want a safe and sustainable future for generations to come then we need urgent climate action on a scale that has never been seen before. The first steps must be to halt all new oil and gas licences and properly tax the obscene profits of companies like BP to fund our transition.”
The Scottish Greens have called for an end to new fossil fuel exploration licences in the North Sea and for the UK government to revoke the licence for the Rosebank field and other major projects approved by the Tories.
