Statement of the Day, Guterres: Fossil fuel industry used scandalous tactics like Big Tobacco

The fossil fuel industry has exploited precisely the same scandalous tactics as Big Tobacco, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said and added that investments in renewables should have happened sooner.

“Even in the short term, fossil fuels don’t make political or economic sense. Yet we seem trapped in a world where fossil fuel producers and financiers have humanity by the throat. For decades, the fossil fuel industry has invested heavily in pseudo-science and public relations – with a false narrative to minimize their responsibility for climate change and undermine ambitious climate policies. They exploited precisely the same scandalous tactics as Big Tobacco decades before,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said.

Big Tobacco is a group of the biggest companies in the sector. Like tobacco interests, fossil fuel interests and their financial accomplices must not escape responsibility, Guterres underscored in a speech at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate. He also warned against putting climate action aside in times of crisis.

“Had we invested earlier and massively in renewable energy, we would not find ourselves once again at the mercy of unstable fossil fuel markets,” Guterres pointed out.