UN Chief Calls for 'Energy Windfall Tax' on Polluters

Facts

On Tuesday, at the UN General Assembly in front of 193 world leaders, UN Chief Antonio Guterres called on wealthy nations to tax windfall profits of fossil fuel companies and use those funds to pay countries harmed by climate change.
Guterres said that "polluters must pay" for the damages caused by heatwaves, floods, droughts, and other disasters linked to climate change. He declared that the taxes collected should be directed "to countries suffering loss and damage" and "to people struggling with rising food and energy prices."
In his speech, the UN chief demanded accountability for "enablers" who are complicit in the damages caused by fossil fuel companies. These include banks, private equity firms, asset managers, and public relations firms that invest, promote, and underwrite carbon pollution.
The notion of taxing energy companies based on their profit margins from the Ukraine war has gained popularity in Europe. This proposal would provide a projected $140B to assist individuals facing rising energy prices.
Britain has already passed legislation placing a 25% windfall tax on oil and gas producers in the North Sea. Democrats in the US have discussed similar legislation, however, any legislation is likely to face controversy in Congress.
Developing nations have prepared a discussion document to present at the UN General Assembly that promotes a "climate-related and justice-based" global tax to raise funds essential to the survival of their respective nations.

Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Euro News. A large portion of people vulnerable to climate change, roughly 3.5B people, are located in the global south. Calls for wealthier nations to pay up are getting louder. Types of reparations can include apologies, compensation, and legislation to ensure that the harm ends and will not be repeated. Impacted nations demand that the exploitation end and a period of healing begins.
Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Bloomberg. Despite the understandable intent, calls for a windfall tax on energy-producing companies will damage the global economy. It's not a good move to penalize entities to stimulate economic growth. A better approach would be for all nations to invest in renewable and climate-friendly energy infrastructure - this would protect the environment while building green energy deliberately over time.