Amsterdam, Netherlands – Chevron and ExxonMobil today reported combined profits of more than US$26 billion for the second quarter, closing another bumper earnings season for the world’s largest oil and gas corporations as the illegal war on Iran drives up oil prices and the cost of living.

The latest huge United States results follow high quarterly earnings from European multinational corporations Shell, TotalEnergies, Equinor and Eni.[1] The announcements land as households face rising energy, transport and food costs. Oil and gas giants are banking billions from the price shocks of another war, while the fossil fuels they sell keep driving climate disasters that communities are paying for with their homes, their harvests and their lives.[2] Late-June heatwaves alone killed more than 10,000 people across Europe, while wildfires in July forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes in countries including Algeria, Canada, France and Spain.

Rebecca Newsom, Global Political Lead at Greenpeace International, said:

“These profits are another reminder that crisis is a feature of the fossil fuel business model, not a bug. The illegal war on Iran has pushed oil prices higher and the world’s biggest polluters are cashing in – at the very moment their products are driving the deadly heatwaves and fires devastating communities around the world.

“This is fossilflation – their profits are driving up our bills. Families pay through rising food prices and other mounting costs of climate disasters, while oil and gas corporations profit from the very instability they help create. For as long as wrecking the climate stays this lucrative, the crises will keep coming.

“Governments must respond by permanently increasing taxes on oil and gas profits – not just windfalls – and backing a global polluter profits tax, alongside new rules to end tax dodging and profit shifting under the Global Tax Treaty. These measures could unlock hundreds of billions of dollars to help communities recover and accelerate the shift to renewable energy, while disincentivising further investment in the fossil fuel industry. It’s time governments used the tax system to make this destruction unprofitable, and to support a just and equitable global transition away from fossil fuels.”

Chevron’s second quarter profit of US$12 billion, is a 328 per cent increase from the first quarter, while Exxon’s profit of US$14.7 billion, is a 67 per cent increase from the first quarter.

From 3 August, governments meet in New York for the next round of negotiations to agree on a Global Tax Treaty.[3] Greenpeace is calling for new global rules to end tax-dodging and make oil and gas corporations and the super-rich pay for the climate damage they have caused, in order to fund a fair, green and resilient future. A new 20% global tax on oil and gas profits, applied fairly, with tax rates progressively increasing over time, could raise more than US$100 billion a year in its first few years.[4] The revenues from bolder taxes on wealthy polluters must support communities recovering from war and climate disasters, strengthen public services, protect families from rising bills, and finance a just transition to renewable energy that leaves no one behind.

Fifty seven countries committed to advancing an end to coal, oil and gas dependence at the Santa Marta conference in Colombia in April, and 141 countries subsequently backed a just transition away from fossil fuels through a UN General Assembly resolution endorsing the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on Climate Change in May.[5][6] Governments must now turn those commitments into action by ending new fossil fuel expansion, permanently increasing taxes on oil and gas profits, and accelerating investment in renewable energy.

ENDS

Notes:

[1] Q2 profit results from Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, TotalEnergies, Equinor and Eni 

[2] Global Witness: big five oil majors’ profits jumped 125% in the year Russia invaded Ukraine 

[3] Also known as the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. Greenpeace media briefing: Global Tax Treaty negotiators meet as record heat intensifies worldwide 

[4] Proposal for a surtax on fossil fuel industries’ profits (Global Alliance for Tax Justice) 

[5] Santa Marta conference to end fossil fuels a landmark moment for climate, energy stability – The final synthesis report from co-chairs Colombia and the Netherlands highlights the under-taxation of fossil profits as a barrier to a just transition, concluding that progressive tax reforms are necessary.

[6] UNGA heeds Pacific voices, backs world court on states’ climate obligations 

Contact:

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org

The ongoing illegal war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran has already cost the US more than US$100 billion in direct military spending and related economic losses. However, this figure captures only a fraction of the conflict’s true toll.

Beyond the immediate fiscal burden on governments, the war has triggered global energy market volatility, inflated basic living costs, disrupted international trade, and caused immense human suffering. These compounding impacts expose a fundamental vulnerability: the world’s continued dependence on fossil fuels transforms regional crises into severe global economic and humanitarian shocks.

Human losses and the humanitarian crisis in Iran and the wider Middle East

While financial statistics dominate economic debates, the most severe cost of the conflict is human. Beyond the geopolitical and market disruptions, the US‑Israeli war on Iran has inflicted widespread destruction across the region. Direct military bombardment has led to  thousands of civilian and military casualties, shattering families and leaving deep, generational trauma.

The systematic destruction of housing, schools, and essential civic infrastructure has forced millions onto perilous displacement routes, crowding families into under-resourced shelters. Compounding this crisis, targeted damage to critical power grids, water treatment plants, and regional hospitals has left entire populations cut off from clean drinking water, electricity, and emergency healthcare. As basic lifelines collapse, the conflict rapidly transforms from a regional war into a catastrophic, full-scale humanitarian emergency.

The Pentagon’s bill is only the beginning

The war has already cost US taxpayers more than US$100 billion, according to Fortune. On 21 July, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress that military operations against Iran had reached US$37.5 billion, and the Pentagon has requested an additional US$67.1 billion to further fund the operation. All this while making massive cuts to funding for healthcare and clean energy. 

While substantial, this figure measures only the direct military expenditure. It omits the far larger economic toll borne by global businesses, public finances, and households coping with energy shocks and inflation.

The Strait of Hormuz: a fossil fuel chokepoint at the heart of the Iran energy shock

The conflict has re-emphasised the strategic vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz. Updated data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicates that 20.9 million barrels of oil per day roughly one-fifth of global petroleum consumption passed through the Strait in the first half of 2025. The corridor is equally vital for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, particularly from Qatar.

Because a massive portion of global energy flows through this single maritime bottleneck, even the threat of disruption impacts the global economy. Heightened geopolitical risk instantly spikes oil prices, shipping insurance rates, and transport costs. The economic consequences of the war extend beyond energy prices and trade disruptions. 

As risks in the Strait of Hormuz intensified, major maritime insurers repriced or withdrew war-risk cover, while Lloyd’s expanded its high-risk designation to the entire Persian Gulf. According to the World Economic Forum, shipping traffic through the Strait fell by around 95%, prompting the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to establish a US$40 billion reinsurance facility to help restore maritime trade. The episode illustrates how governments are increasingly acting as insurers of last resort when geopolitical risks exceed the capacity of private markets.

Higher food prices, a deepening cost of living crisis and windfall fossil fuel profits

Rising energy prices rapidly ripple through every sector of the economy. Agriculture still relies heavily on fossil fuels for machinery, fertilizer production, irrigation, and shipping. Consequently, high oil prices directly drive up the cost of food, hitting lower-income households hardest.

While consumers bear the burden of inflation, major energy corporations reap massive profits from market instability. Greenpeace estimates that during the initial phase of the conflict:

• Top 100 oil and gas companies: earned an estimated additional US$30m or more in profit per hour during the first month.
  
• Projected revenue: with oil hovering near US$100 per barrel, major producers such as Saudi Aramco, Gazprom and ExxonMobil could generate an additional US$234bn in profits by the end of 2026.
  
• Corporate earnings surge: Shell reported US$6.9bn in first‑quarter profits, more than double the previous quarter. Four major European firms, Shell, TotalEnergies, BP and Equinor, reported over US$18bn in adjusted post‑tax earnings in Q1 2026, an 80% quarter‑on‑quarter increase.

This is fossilflation in action, a cost of living crisis driven by fossil fuel price shocks, where households worldwide pay through higher bills while oil and gas giants turn war‑fuelled chaos into windfall profits.

Trade disruptions, global economic risks and fossilflation

Energy markets are not the only sector under strain; major shipping routes have faced severe operational shifts. Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait disruptions since late 2023 forced maritime carriers to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, adding up to 6,000 kilometers per voyage and up to 38% more CO2, in routes like from Shanghai to Hamburg. 

• Hourly economic damage: Germany’s parliamentary research service estimated losses in 2023 of up to €360m per hour due to extended transit times, higher fuel burn, increased labour costs, port congestion and supply chain delays.
  
• Flow reductions: route shifts have severely curtailed the share of global oil trade and liquefied natural gas trade that historically passed through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.

Looking ahead, the World Bank’s chief economist has warned that a prolonged escalation could slow global economic growth to 1.3% and drive global inflation up to 4.5% under a severe disruption scenario. In other words, the more we depend on oil and gas, the more war and instability anywhere becomes an economic crisis everywhere.

Climate, security and peace: how fossil fuel dependence creates strategic risk

The US‑Israeli war on Iran  highlights that fossil fuel dependence is not only a climate challenge; it is also a security challenge. The global reliance on oil and gas creates strategic vulnerabilities by concentrating energy supplies in regions exposed to geopolitical tensions and by making economies sensitive to disruptions in a limited number of production sites and transport routes.

Military conflicts involving fossil fuel-producing regions often create a cycle of insecurity: dependence on oil and gas increases geopolitical competition; conflicts then trigger energy price shocks, inflation and economic instability; and the resulting uncertainty can delay investment in cleaner and more resilient energy systems.

The environmental consequences of war also add to the long-term costs. Military operations require large amounts of fossil fuels, while damage to energy infrastructure can release pollutants and greenhouse gases. Reconstruction after conflict often requires energy-intensive materials such as steel and cement, potentially locking economies into additional fossil fuel demand.

Reducing fossil fuel dependence should therefore be understood not only as a climate policy, but also as a strategy for strengthening energy security, reducing exposure to geopolitical shocks and improving economic resilience.

War’s hidden environmental cost: how geopolitics wrecks the Earth and deepens injustice

Beneath the geopolitical headlines, an environmental crisis is unfolding across the Middle East as military conflict and extreme climate vulnerability reinforce one another in a region warming at twice the global average rate.

Resource scarcity such as water insecurity, and destruction of farmland worsen pre-existing displacement crises, forcing millions more people from their homes into severe climate and economic vulnerability. With desalination plants supplying over two-thirds of the region’s water, targeted strikes on facilities and reservoirs spanning Iran’s Qeshm Island to sites in Bahrain and the UAE have cut off clean drinking water for tens of thousands of civilians.

At the same time, heavy bombardments targeting oil depots and refineries, including Tehran’s Shahran and Shahr-e Rey facilities, threaten public health by leaching toxic pollutants directly into local air, soil, and waterways.

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This environmental breakdown is compounded by severe financial and atmospheric costs that further undermine long-term stability. Over US$58bn in destroyed energy infrastructure alongside US$600m per day in lost tourism revenue are forcing regional governments to divert critical capital away from water management, renewable energy, and climate adaptation.

Furthermore, the first two weeks of military operations alone produced an estimated 5m tonnes of CO₂ exceeding the annual carbon footprint of 84 nations combined. Ultimately, climate resilience cannot be built in a vacuum, as peace and geopolitical stability remain essential prerequisites for environmental adaptation and human survival.

Breaking the cycle: energy independence, renewables and a just transition

The Iran war demonstrates that the transition away from fossil fuels is increasingly an economic and security priority. Renewable energy, energy efficiency and electrification can reduce exposure to volatile international fossil fuel markets and decrease dependence on politically vulnerable supply routes.

Unlike oil and gas, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar rely primarily on domestic resources rather than imported fuels. Expanding renewable electricity generation, strengthening electricity grids, improving energy efficiency and accelerating electrification of transport, buildings and industry can help protect economies from future energy price shocks. The benefits extend beyond climate mitigation. Reduced fossil fuel dependence can lower energy import bills, improve trade balances, create more predictable energy costs for businesses and households, and reduce the economic leverage created by concentrated fossil fuel supplies.

The lesson from the US‑Israeli war on Iran is that energy security in the 21st century is not achieved by securing access to more fossil fuels; it is achieved by reducing dependence on them.

Reducing fossil fuel reliance is ultimately an essential investment in global stability, human security, and economic resilience. In the meantime, an immediate ceasefire and a return to diplomacy are urgently required to stop further civilian loss, prevent regional destruction, and pave the way for sustainable global security, economic stability and a just peace rooted in climate and social justice.

Fawad Durrani is an expert on climate change, conflict and migration at Greenpeace Germany.

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I am Māori, the original people of New Zealand. And, as Māori, we are shaped by principles like whakapapa (our ancestral lineage and connection to all things) and utu (the obligation to restore balance when harm is caused). We are connected to te taiao (the natural world) not as owners, but as part of a beautiful and delicate web of life.

I have spent most of my adult life involved in struggles for justice. For years, I have been locked in a legal battle against six of New Zealand’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the agriculture and energy sectors: Genesis Energy, Dairy Holdings, New Zealand Steel, Channel Infrastructure and BT Mining. This case includes the world’s biggest dairy exporter, Fonterra and a major fuel supplier, Z Energy who together with the other companies are responsible for about a third of the country’s total climate emissions.

Smith v Fonterra

The core argument behind my case has always been that if corporations knowingly contribute to dangerous climate harm, then surely there must be some legal mechanism to hold them accountable. I don’t think this is a radical proposition, and nor do most people. Courts exist precisely to examine difficult questions where public harm and private power intersect.

In 2024, we won a historic victory. The Supreme Court of New Zealand unanimously ruled that my case could go to a full trial. It was a massive breakthrough for global climate litigation. Our trial was locked in for April 2027.

But corporate power does not accept defeat quietly. Fearing the evidence that would come out in an open courtroom, these big polluters bypassed the public and went straight through the back door to the highest office in the land.

New Zealand Parliament proposes to ban climate tort cases 

The New Zealand government is now rushing through the Climate Change Response (Tort Liability) Amendment Bill – a law effectively ghostwritten by the polluters themselves.

This proposed law bans citizens from suing heavy polluters for climate damage, and it applies retrospectively to kill my court case before it can even start.  The government has stepped in to rewrite the law, specifically to protect the country’s biggest climate polluters. By doing this, they are shutting the courtroom doors in the faces of ordinary people.

This decision strikes at the foundations of democracy. It raises profound questions about the rule of law, the separation of powers, and whether ordinary citizens can still seek justice when their interests clash with those of politically influential industries.

The people v politically influential industries

The question that comes sharply into focus is Who holds power, and who is forced to live with the consequences of decisions made by that power?

We hold obligations to those who came before us, and to those who will come after us. That worldview stands in direct conflict with political systems that treat the environment as expendable whenever profit margins or electoral calculations are at stake.

Recent investigations, including a scathing finding by the Ombudsman, revealed the shameful truth of how this new law was born. Executives from Z Energy and Fonterra had direct access to the Prime Minister’s Office. They handed over private briefing documents suggesting exactly how the law should be rewritten to exempt them from accountability.

When investigative journalists and watchdogs asked for these documents under official transparency laws, the Prime Minister’s Office hid them, keeping the corporate collusion secret from the public.

When ordinary people finally manage to get their concerns before a judge, the government shouldn’t be allowed to simply change the rules midstream to ensure the case never reaches a conclusion.

Climate justice rally call around the world

These corporate giants are aware of the legal precedent this case could set, it is no surprise they are trying to shut down the courts.

What is happening in New Zealand is a warning sign for the rest of the world. Across the globe, climate litigation is breaking new ground. Activists are successfully using the courts to force change.  If they succeed in New Zealand, other polluting industries could use this same playbook of secret lobbying to strip away your rights next.

Democracy isn’t self-sustaining – rights survive only when people are willing to stand up and defend them. We cannot allow corporate bullying to override democratic justice.

It is time to resist

The climate crisis is accelerating. Public trust in institutions is fraying. Economic inequality is widening. Indigenous rights remain contested. These interconnected symptoms reflect a political system struggling to balance concentrated power with the public good.

The response can’t be silence or resignation. People need to organise, speak out, challenge misinformation, support independent journalism, engage in public debate, stand with communities already suffering the impacts of climate change, and vote with a clear understanding of what’s at stake. Real change has always come from ordinary people deciding that the direction of their country matters enough to fight for.

That’s the challenge before us now.

I intend to continue that fight, both inside and outside the courtroom, because the issues at stake are bigger than any one case and any one generation. I hope you will stand in solidarity with me.

E tū e tū! Tutū te puehu! (Rise up! Kick up the dust!)

Help stop the Climate Amendment Bill

Call on the New Zealand Government and the Governor General

Sign here

Mike Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) is a climate change activist, father and grandfather from Aotearoa, New Zealand. He has more than 30 years’ experience in climate education and strategic organisation and action in Aotearoa and internationally.

A version of this article was first posted on E-TANGATA.

CNN Travel called Raja Ampat ‘The Last Paradise on Earth’. National Geographic and The New York Times listed it among the world’s top destinations for 2025. Conservation experts describe the islands of Raja Ampat as ‘the epicentre of marine biodiversity’.

But this place is much more than a tropical paradise. Located off the coast of New Guinea in Indonesia’s Southwest Papua province, this remote archipelago of more than 1,500 islands, cays and shoals spans 4.6 million hectares of land and sea, including a network of more than 1.7 million hectares of marine protected areas. It is home to extraordinary biodiversity, as well as Indigenous West Papuan communities whose lives have been deeply connected to these forests and seas for generations.

For years, Raja Ampat has been celebrated as a rare conservation success story. Today, however, this globally important ecosystem is facing growing pressure from extractive industries. The rapid expansion of nickel mining now threatens the forests, coral reefs and communities that have made the archipelago one of the world’s greatest biodiversity treasures.

Here are six things you need to know about Raja Ampat, and why protecting this extraordinary place matters to all of us.

1. It is the heart of the Coral Triangle

The waters of Raja Ampat are among the most biodiverse marine areas on Earth. At the heart of the Coral Triangle, a vast region recognised as the global centre of tropical marine biodiversity, the archipelago is home to around 75% of the world’s coral species and approximately 2,500 species of fish. Beneath its turquoise waters, vibrant coral reefs provide sanctuary for manta rays, sea turtles, reef sharks and countless other species, making Raja Ampat one of the world’s most extraordinary underwater ecosystems.

2. Its biodiversity doesn’t stop at the shoreline

While Raja Ampat is famous for its coral reefs, its forests are equally extraordinary. Home to endemic mammals, birds-of-paradise and lush mangroves, these forests are inseparable from the surrounding seas. Together they form one living ecosystem, where forests protect coral reefs, mangroves shelter marine life, and species found nowhere else on Earth continue to thrive. Raja Ampat is home to 47 mammal species, including the endemic Waigeo spotted cuscus, and 274 bird species, six of which exist nowhere else on Earth.

3. Indigenous People have made Raja Ampat a conservation success story

Long before Raja Ampat became known around the world, Indigenous West Papuan communities had been caring for these islands and seas for generations. Their cultures, livelihoods and identities are inseparable from the forests, mangroves and reefs that sustain life across the archipelago.

Over the years, Indigenous communities, local organisations, conservation groups and governments have worked together to protect Raja Ampat. Their collective efforts have helped make it one of the world’s most celebrated conservation success stories. In 2023, large parts of the archipelago were designated a UNESCO Global Geopark, while extensive areas on land and at sea are now protected under Indonesian conservation measures. In September 2025, after the #SaveRajaAmpat campaign gained public support and went into an outcry, UNESCO designated the area as a Biosphere Reserve, granting this area double UNESCO status.

Raja Ampat has also become an international example of how conservation and community-based tourism can support both nature and local livelihoods.

4. A global race for minerals is putting Raja Ampat at risk

For decades, Raja Ampat remained largely protected from large-scale industrial development. Today, however, the archipelago is facing growing pressure from extractive industries. With the excuse that minerals such as nickel are crucial for the economy and as countries race to secure them, areas once considered too remote or too valuable to exploit are increasingly being targeted for mining. Raja Ampat is one of those places.

A Greenpeace Indonesia investigation published in June 2025 mapped 16 current and former nickel mining licences across Raja Ampat. The findings raised concerns that one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots was becoming the latest frontier in the global race for critical minerals. Nickel mining is not critical. Critical are the ecosystems that maintain life on Earth and protect us from the climate crisis. Critical are the livelihoods, knowledge and wisdom of those who have lived in harmony with the planet for millenia.

5. After a major victory, a threat remains

Following a Greenpeace investigation and widespread public mobilisation under the  #SaveRajaAmpat campaign, the Indonesian government revoked, in 2025, four of the five active nickel mining licences in the region. It was a major victory, but one mining licence remains active, and the pressure has not disappeared. 

A new Greenpeace Indonesia report published today has found evidence that at least three companies are preparing new nickel mining projects in eastern Waigeo, the largest island in the Raja Ampat archipelago, while coal mining and  oil and gas expansion continues across the region.

6. There is still time to protect ‘The Last Paradise on Earth’

The victories achieved in recent years have shown that public pressure can make a difference. But protecting this extraordinary archipelago requires ongoing work to prevent destructive extractive industries from expanding into places like these, while recognising and strengthening the rights, territories and leadership of the Indigenous Peoples who have cared for them for generations.

As the world searches for solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises, Raja Ampat reminds us that the most effective solutions already exist. They begin by protecting nature, recognising Indigenous Peoples’ rights and leadership, and ensuring that places like this are never sacrificed in the name of development.

Jaqueline Sordi is the Communications Lead for the Tropical Forests campaign at Greenpeace International