Windfall Tax on Big Oil Demanded as Trump's Iran War Pads Profits of Fossil Fuel Giants

With the price of oil surging and showing no signs of coming down anytime soon thanks to President Donald Trump's illegal war in Iran, renewable energy advocacy organization 350.org renewed its previous call to slap fossil fuel companies with a windfall profits tax.

In a Friday statement, 350.org noted that the oil supply shortage caused by the Iran war is growing so acute that it's leading to a "global surge" in coal production to meet energy demands.

Specifically, 350.org pointed to both Japan and South Korea lifting their coal consumption limits, as well as Thailand firing up old coal plants that had previously been shut down.

Additionally, the group found that "Indonesia, the world’s largest coal exporter, has reversed planned cuts to production," while "Australia, South Africa, Turkey, and the Philippines are also increasing exports to meet soaring demand."

The group said it expects the increased demand in coal to be a temporary byproduct of the Iran crisis, but warned "it will still impose heavy costs: increased deaths from air pollution, more climate chaos, and a transfer of wealth from consumers to coal producers in the form of windfall profits."

Given this, 350.org executive director Anne Jellema said it was time to impose a windfall profits tax on fossil fuel companies to help fund the continued development of renewable energy sources and provide real long-term relief to global consumers.

"The Iran war is exposing the deadly consequences of global fossil fuel dependence," said Jellema. "Coal producers are making massive profits while governments delay the clean energy transition. It’s a stark reminder why windfall taxes on fossil fuel companies are more relevant than ever."

Jellema added that Trump's Iran war "shows what we have long warned: fossil fuel dependence creates crises, profits for polluters, and suffering for ordinary people," and promoted windfall taxes and accelerated deployment of renewables as "urgent tools to turn this around."

Nations including Germany and Australia are weighing windfall oil taxes during the Iran crisis, and US Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) last month reintroduced their the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act, a bill whose stated aim is "to curb profiteering by oil companies and provide Americans relief at the gas pump."

US consumers have been getting hit hard at the gas pump in recent weeks, and Democratic members of the Joint Economic Committee on Thursday released a report showing that Americans have collectively spent $8.4 billion more on gas than they otherwise would have since the beginning of the war.