Extracts from end of day adjournment debate (Commons) on Fossil Fuel Industry: Regulation of Investments - Oct 19
Wednesday, 20 October 2021 08:25
Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab):...Shell has spent $84 billion
on fossil fuel exploration and development in the space of a few
years, but it then asks its social media followers what consumers
need to do to cut carbon. As a Harvard expert on the fossil fuel
industry’s lobbying put it, these companies have gone from
“blatant” denialism to “more subtle and insidious forms of
delayism.” ...Then there are the subsidies that the Government
provide to the fossil fuel sector,...Request free trial
(Coventry South)
(Lab):...Shell has spent $84 billion on fossil
fuel exploration and development in the space of a few years, but
it then asks its social media followers what consumers need to do
to cut carbon. As a Harvard expert on the fossil fuel industry’s
lobbying put it, these companies have gone from “blatant” denialism
to
“more subtle and insidious forms of delayism.”
...Then there are the subsidies that the Government provide to the
fossil fuel sector, recently estimated to be as much as £12.8
billion a year, ranking the UK as one of the worst of the OECD
nations. These subsidies mean that, while Shell reportedly
paid the Norwegian Government £1.3 billion in taxes in a year, in
the UK, Shell itself
was paid a rebate of £72 million of public money. That is
scandalous. The Government cannot hide behind misleading
definitions and technicalities and they must stop subsidising an
industry that is killing our planet.
Then there is the role of British banks. The Government like to
boast about London being the heart of the global financial system,
but forget to mention that British banks are world leaders in
funding fossil fuel companies. UK banks Barclays and HSBC rank
among the worst in the world, having provided £158 billion in
fossil fuel finance since the Paris agreement was signed, handing
the likes of Shell and
BP the fortunes they need to extract the fuels that are setting our
world alight...
To read the whole debate, CLICK HERE
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