Ed Jones | AFP | Getty Images United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged governments on Wednesday to tax excess oil and gas profits as the world grapples with an energy crisis caused in part by Russia’s war in Ukraine. “It is immoral for oil and gas companies to make record profits from this energy crisis on the backs of the poorest people and communities,” Guterres said in a speech before the international forum. He added that the funds, amounting to $100 billion in the first quarter of this year, should be used to support vulnerable communities. “This insane greed is punishing the poorest and most vulnerable people while destroying our only home,” Guterres said, calling on governments to also address the growing climate crisis. It also urged governments to strengthen and diversify supply chains for raw materials and renewable energy technologies, while eliminating bureaucratic red tape around the energy transition. “Every country is part of this energy crisis,” Guterres said. He also said that the consequences of the Kremlin’s war have extended beyond a nascent energy crisis and have also worsened global food insecurity and the debt cliff around the world, but especially in developing countries. “Many developing countries drowning in debt, without access to finance and struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic could be pushed to the brink,” Guterres warned. “We are already seeing the warning signs of a wave of economic, social and political upheaval that would leave no country untouched,” he added. The UN chief announced the creation of the Global Crisis Response Team to coordinate global solutions to the triple crisis of food, energy and finance.

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Read more about CNBC’s political coverage: Guterres’ comments come as the first ship carrying Ukrainian agricultural products departs the Black Sea, an important step in addressing the growing food crisis caused by Russia’s naval blockade of Ukrainian ports along the Sea of ​​Azov and the Black Sea. . In July, representatives of the United Nations, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement to open three Ukrainian ports, an apparent breakthrough as the Kremlin’s war with its former Soviet neighbor entered its fifth month. However, less than 24 hours after the deal was signed, Russian missiles rained down on Odessa, Ukraine’s largest port. World leaders immediately condemned the Kremlin’s missile attack on Odessa, another worrisome turn in fruitless efforts to ease a growing global food crisis. Ukraine’s infrastructure minister, Oleksandr Kubrakov, told NBC News on Monday that the ship is expected to arrive in Tripoli, Lebanon, in two days. Kubrakov also said 16 ships are ready to depart, but only three ships will leave the port each day for the next two weeks. He added that in the next two months, Ukraine hopes to export up to 3 million tons of grain and other agricultural goods by sea per month. Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine exported 5 to 7 million tons per month.