'Polluters must pay' -U.N. chief slams oil, gas companies

STORY: "The fossil fuel industry is feasting on hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies and windfall profits while household budgets shrink and our planet burns," he said.

While Guterres again pushed developed countries to tax the fossil fuel windfall profits, this time he also used his bully pulpit to spell out where the money should be spent.

"Those funds should be redirected in two ways: to countries suffering loss and damage caused by the climate crisis; and to people struggling with rising food and energy prices," he told the annual gathering of world leaders in New York.

Britain has passed a 25% windfall tax on oil and gas producers in the North Sea, while U.S. lawmakers have discussed a similar idea, though it faces long odds in Congress.

"Polluters must pay," Guterres said.