The time has come for a global drive towards energy revenue transparency, says a new Global Witnessreport issued today. Energy revenue transparency limits the scope for oil-related corruption through fiscal accountability. This initiative presents a low cost, high-impact opportunity for both the United States and international oil companies to enhance energy security, improve investment climates, and contribute to the development of poor nations.
Global Witness Director Simon Taylor said, "Corruption in the oil sector is causing poverty and instability in nations from Central Asia to West Africa, seriously harming U.S. energy security."
Global Witness, a founding member of Publish What You Pay, a global coalition of over 300 nongovernmental organizations, calls on the U.S. to raise the bar and enact the following key policy measures on energy revenue transparency:
- U.S. legislation establishing a reporting standard for extractive industry companies to publicly report payments made to governments on a country-by-country basis;
- High-level U.S. diplomatic engagement on and funding for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and on budget expenditure transparency;
- Key diplomatic engagement with China, India, Russia, and Brazil in the setting of energy revenue transparency as a global standard.
Global Witness Policy Adviser Sasha Lezhnev said, "By enacting a bill on energy revenue transparency, the U.S. would go a long way toward combating corruption and improving governance in oil-producing countries."
For more information, please contact Sasha Lezhnev at +1-202-721-5634 or [email protected]