Invest profits in renewables, Shell told
‘Fossil fuel companies are more than capable of providing compensation to those they have impacted’
Quakers have said that the billions in profits announced by Shell last week show that ‘fossil fuel companies are more than capable of providing compensation to those they have impacted’.
The comment by Billy Vaughan, public affairs officer for Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), came as he joined Global Justice Now, Christian Aid, and Oxfam, to present a 40,000-strong petition urging the prime minister to ‘Make Polluters Pay’. Last week Shell announced profits of US$23.7 billion, down from US$28.3 billion in 2023.
‘The government must now commit to making polluters pay their fair share to communities in the Global South who have been affected most by climate change,’ said Billy Vaughan, as he handed in the petition at 10 Downing Street. He said the campaigners were there ‘to show the government that the public want polluters to pay up for the environmental damage they have caused’.
Other campaigners have also criticised the company for giving investors generous windfalls, rather than increasing its investments in clean energy alternatives. After analysing Shell’s financial reports, Global Witness said the company had spent more than seven times the amount on oil and gas last year than on renewables. Shell spent US$18.3 billion on its traditional fossil fuel businesses last year, and just over US$2.5 billion on ‘renewables and energy solutions’ over the same period.
The ‘Make Polluters Pay’ petition can be signed via the Quakers in Britain website.
