The Norwegian government should heed the criticism of Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in relation to Norway’s profiteering from high oil prices, the country’s Greens leader Rasmus Hansson has said.
As a result of the increasing price of crude oil, Oslo is recording record profits on the back of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Green politician noted that revenues have totaled 400+ billion Norwegian krone more than last year, meaning profits have more than doubled. This, argues Hansson, is “a windfall from the war, which was noted by Prime Minister Morawiecki. Instead of waving a finger at him, we should listen to him.”
At the end of May, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki criticized the Norwegian authorities for the huge profits exceeding €100 billion off the back of the war in Ukraine. He told the Norwegians: “Dear friends, this is not just.”
In an article for a Norwegian newspaper, Rasmus Hansson says that too often Norwegians shy away from the debate over the morality of benefiting from fossil fuels. He agreed with Morawiecki that the extreme prices of gas and oil, and the massive Norwegian profits, are by and large the effect of the tragedy that has befallen the people of Ukraine.
Hansson also highlighted his own party’s proposal to donate windfall profits to the Solidarity Fund for the rebuilding of Ukraine, assistance to countries that have helped refugees, and help for countries such as Somalia that are threatened with famine as a result of the breakdown in the grain trade, caused by Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
