Windfall tax does ‘half a job’: Greenpeace calls for proper tax on oil and gas firms to pay for home insulation and heat pumps

Tomorrow the government is expected to announce a £10bn package of measures to help households with soaring energy bills, the BBC reports. Of that figure, £7bn is set to come from a windfall tax on oil and gas firms.

These are expected to include:

• Expansion of the Warm Homes Discount
• Council tax cuts
• One-off payments to some vulnerable households
• An untargeted cut in VAT on fuel

Greenpeace is calling for the Chancellor to tax offshore oil and gas companies at 70%, in line with the global average, which could bring in an extra £13.4bn. The UK currently taxes fossil fuel firms at 40%.

Ami McCarthy, political campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: “This windfall tax only does half a job. It raises significant money to support the vulnerable but does nothing to tackle the problem of energy waste – which means we’ll keep facing these problems for years to come, while our money literally goes out the window.

“The Chancellor could have nearly doubled the £7bn he’s planning to get if he properly taxed all oil and gas profits, as we see in other countries.

“That would bring in much-needed cash to go beyond emergency help with bills, and could pay for long overdue home upgrades to keep bills low for years to come.

“Fossil fuels are driving the climate crisis and the cost of living crisis. It’s high time they were properly taxed to fund the transition to a more affordable, greener future.”