'Shameless' - campaign group on Shell's record profits
A campaign group described Shell's record profits as 'shameless' on Thursday saying the energy giant is profiting at the expense of the planet.
Shell delivered a record $40 billion profit in 2022, the energy giant said on Thursday, capping a tumultuous year in which a surge in energy prices after Russia's invasion of Ukraine allowed it to hand shareholders unprecedented returns.
The British company's record earnings, which more than doubled from a year earlier, mirror those reported by US rivals earlier this week and are certain to intensify pressure on governments to further raise taxes on the sector.
Dorothy Guerrero, head of policy at Global Justice Now, said the profits were being made on 'the backs of people in developing countries where energy companies often run operations from.
Guerrero says these communities are already paying an 'extreme price,' including the destruction of local environments.
Governments struggling with soaring energy bills have responded by imposing windfall taxes on the energy sector but opposition party leaders have said the measures are not enough.
Shell said it expects to incur around $2.4 billion in accounting costs related to the windfall levies in 2022, and that it will pay $500 million in cash tax in Britain this year.
Chief market analyst at CMC Markets, Michael Hewson, said poor long-term government policy has helped to facilitate the record profits energy companies are seeing in the UK.
