Guterres urges governments to tax oil giants’ windfall profits

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged governments to impose taxes on windfall profits made by fossil fuel companies to support developing countries affected by climate disasters.

Guterres made the call at the COP31 Leaders’ Summit in Antalya, Türkiye, where he proposed a new global Climate Justice Compact.

He warned that greenhouse gas emissions reached record levels in 2025, while extreme weather events continued to threaten livelihoods, economies and development.

The UN chief said breaching the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree Celsius warming threshold was now inevitable but stressed that governments could still limit the extent and duration of the overshoot.

“The brutal truth is that the climate crisis is outrunning us,” he said.

Guterres identified accelerating the transition from fossil fuels, protecting vulnerable populations, expanding climate finance and strengthening international cooperation as four key priorities.

He noted that developing economies outside China accounted for nearly two-thirds of the world’s population but received less than one-fifth of global clean-energy investments.

He also expressed concern that many developing countries faced borrowing costs two to three times higher than those of wealthier nations.

“We need an extraordinary acceleration,” he said, calling for stronger emissions reduction commitments and increased investment in renewable energy.

Guterres urged developed countries to provide at least 300 billion dollars annually in climate finance by 2035 and develop credible plans to increase funding for adaptation.

He further called for the broader 1.3 trillion dollars climate-financing target to translate into accessible resources for developing countries.

The UN chief disclosed that nine of the largest oil companies earned approximately 95 billion dollars in profits during the previous quarter, while the Loss and Damage Fund had received about 600 million dollars.

“Polluters must pay,” he said, urging governments to direct taxes on windfall profits towards communities suffering climate-related losses.

He also called on multilateral development banks to increase lending, mobilise private investment and expand financing mechanisms tailored to vulnerable economies.

Similarly, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell warned that volatile energy markets and climate disasters were driving inflation and putting pressure on government budgets.

“The political costs of fossil fuel dependency are unforgiving,” Stiell said, urging world leaders to translate national climate commitments into practical investments in electricity access, climate adaptation and affordable financing.

The summit, hosted by Türkiye, forms part of COP31, scheduled for November 9 to 20, with discussions focusing on emissions reductions, climate resilience and the implementation of previous commitments.

The financing proposals are particularly significant for African countries facing energy poverty, climate vulnerability, infrastructure deficits and rising debt-servicing costs.