By Petter Wiber
As shareholder of Equinor, Guttorm Grundta, member of the Norwegian Grandparents for Climate, wrote a proposal for the upcoming shareholders meeting on 12 May: windfall profits from Equinor’s sales of oil and gas should be used for restoration of energy supplies in Ukraine. It reads as follows:
EQUINOR SHOULD INVEST PART OF ITS WAR-STIMULATED INCOME IN REPAIRS AND UPGRADES OF UKRAINE’S ENERGY SYSTEM
Proposal: Equinor shall invest the equivalent of NOK 10 billion leading up to 2030 in securing and upgrading Ukraine’s energy system and infrastructure in collaboration with Ukrainian energy companies. The investments should primarily target renewable energy.
In recent years, Equinor has enjoyed substantial revenue, particularly from the sale of gas to Europe. While Ukraine’s energy generation and infrastructure is being systematically destroyed by Russia, Equinor has accumulated a war-stimulated income of NOK 1270 billion in 2023/2024 alone (NRK). Even if Equinor is not a war profiteer, despite serious accusations to the contrary, there is also an important ethical point here concerning the value of Equinor’s own reputation and future generations.
Over the last four years, Ukraine has been struck by thousands of targeted and destructive Russian bombs, missiles and drone attacks on the country’s cities and energy infrastructure. The World Bank has calculated that the reconstruction of buildings and infrastructure will cost about USD 411 billion, or about NOK 3,600 billion over the next few years. These costs continue to grow for each year Russia extends the war. Through the Nansen Programme for Ukraine, the Norwegian Government has allocated about NOK 15 billion in civil and humanitarian support each year over the next five years. Only a fraction of this goes to investments in repairs and securing the country’s energy infrastructure and generation. In other words, barely more than a drop in the ocean. The need is vast, while Ukraine is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Equinor has had four years of strong cash flow and high profitability, driven primarily by high prices for oil and gas. The net income for 2025 declined somewhat, mainly following extraordinary superprofit taxation by the state, but is expected to increase again in 2026 due to rising prices as a result of the acts of war in the Middle East. Equinor should therefore be able to share some of its substantial profits with Ukraine by investing a small, yet important amount in necessary repairs, transitioning and upgrades to the country’s energy system in collaboration with Ukrainian authorities and energy companies. The investments should be future-oriented and contribute to lasting reductions in Ukrainian CO2 emissions. In other words, the energy system should not be rebuilt based primarily on fossil energy, and the investments should mainly target renewable energy.
This proposal is based on Equinor’s corporate social responsibility in a generational perspective. These investments will be a valuable contribution to Ukraine’s ability to function for current and future generations, and to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement’s climate targets.