UN chief António Guterres delivered one of his most powerful speeches yet in the UN assembly calling on all developed nations to tax the windfall profits of fossil fuel companies, adding that "polluters must pay" for escalating the damages from natural calamities.
Guterres as reported by The Guardian urged nations to divert the money from taxes levied on fossil fuel companies to vulnerable nations facing worsening losses from climate crisis.
Demanding that it is time to put on notice fossil fuel producers, investors and enablers, he opened the riveting speech by describing the bleakest scenario in so many words: "Our world is in big trouble".
He was quoted as saying to the assembly that discontent is on the horizon while cost-of-living is raging, further adding "trust is crumbling, inequalities are exploding and our planet is burning."
António Guterres spoke of a colossal global dysfunction as the international community is not willing to tackle the big challenges the age.
The speech reportedly echoes the demands of activists and European Union to tax major oil and gas companies that are making record profits following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Fossil companies usually highlight their profits with Exxon recording quarterly profit of $17.8bn while Chevron putting its three-month profit at $11.6bn and BP made $8.5bn profit in the same period, according to The Guardian.
If Gutterres' proposal get implemented, revenue garnered from taxes will flow mostly to developing countries that are facing the worst of global heating, as per the report.
Vulnerable countries are likely to raise their demand in UN for "climate-related and justice-based" global tax for loss and damage from climate crisis.