Oil and Gas company profits from Iran war
The oil giant Shell has posted massive profits of £12.6 billion for the first half of the year, a huge surge of 70%. The Scottish Greens have criticised the international fossil fuel company for profiting from war and climate chaos.
The company has reported that the war in Iran has benefited it in the first half of the year, with international oil prices skyrocketing, allowing the company to post its highest quarterly profits in four years.
With household energy bills skyrocketing, the company's profits will be sickening to many who have had to choose between heating their homes and eating throughout the winter. Now, with wildfires across Scotland, France, and Spain, the climate-wrecking impact of the continued reliance on oil and gas is becoming further apparent.
Scottish Greens energy spokesperson Kristopher Leask MSP said:
“These blood-stained profits are truly sickening; they have been built on the backs of the lives of those murdered by American military intervention in Iran, the families struggling with energy costs across the UK, and the future of our planet.
“The climate crisis is at our front door; wildfires have torn through the Cairngorms, forcing communities out of their homes and destroying natural habitats for wildlife across the highlands. There can be no justification for an energy system that allows this kind of profiteering, especially when so many are suffering.
“With the climate crisis worsening, we don’t have time to waste. It's clearer now than ever that we must end our reliance on oil and gas and transition to renewables, which can create well-paid, secure jobs and lower household energy bills.
“While we see oil and gas companies raking in these massive profits, we have politicians and lobbyists demanding the energy profit levy be scrapped. It simply doesn’t make sense to argue that companies making gigantic profits should be paying less tax.
“What we need to see is for these companies and politicians to stop using Scottish workers as political pawns. They have the money to properly invest in renewables and sustainable industries which could fuel a green revolution in the North East of Scotland, create tens of thousands of well-paid, secure jobs and cut our carbon emissions.”