Fuel firms should pay for climate harm, UN leaders told

By SETH BORENSTEIN
Associated Press

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told world leaders Tuesday that rich energy companies should be forced to fork over some windfall profits to aid victims of climate change and offset rising fuel and food costs. In his opening remarks at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Guterres said that the fossil fuel industry, which is responsible for a large share of planet-warming gases, is “feasting on hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies and windfall profits while household budgets shrink and our planet burns.” He also called for developed nations to pay for the loss and damage happening in poorer nations, which do little to contribute to climate change but suffer the worst effects.