Amsterdam, Netherlands – Between January and August 2026, energy prices accounted for the entire rise in eurozone inflation from 1.7% to 3.2%, according to new Greenpeace International analysis that exposes the scale of fossilflation.

Without the oil price shock driven by the US-Israel war on Iran, eurozone inflation in August would have been 2.2%, rather than 3.2%. The findings show how fossil fuel dependence leaves households exposed to price shocks, which in turn have an impact on the wider economy.[1]

John Noël, campaigner at Greenpeace International, said: “The problem is bigger than any single conflict or oil price spike. As long as economies remain tied to volatile fossil fuel markets, repeated disruptions are hitting household costs. Governments must protect people from rampant fossilflation by replacing the fossil fuel system with decentralised renewable energy and electrification.”

The report found that energy prices accounted for 97% of fluctuations in eurozone inflation since 2024, when the temporary distortions of the pandemic years had cleared, demonstrating that fossilflation is a recurring source of economic instability that needs to be addressed by governments and central banks, rather than being treated as a temporary phenomenon that is outside of their scope.

The analysis also found that households can be protected from that economic exposure by switching to renewable energy like wind and solar, and electrified technologies powered by electricity instead of fossil fuels. In an illustrative simulation, a fully electrified German household using an electric vehicle, heat pump, rooftop solar and battery storage faced a 1.5% price increase between January and August 2026, compared with 2.5% for a standard household using the official consumer basket.

Noël added: “While fossil fuel companies are making obscene profits, people are increasingly struggling to make ends meet. Renewable energy can protect households and give them more control over their bills. Rooftop solar, batteries, electric vehicles, public transport and heat pumps can reduce the exposure of countries, families and businesses to volatile fossil fuel markets. Central banks need to recognise fossil fuels as an economic risk and governments must accelerate the shift to decentralised renewable energy systems that shield people and local businesses from recurring price shocks, rather than leaving them exposed.”

Greenpeace is calling on governments to speed up the shift from fossil fuels to decentralised renewable energy and electrification, which can be funded by introducing permanent taxes on oil and gas companies’ profits. Replacing dependence on volatile international oil and gas markets with clean energy generated closer to home would help protect household budgets from future price shocks while cutting climate pollution as part of a just energy transition.

ENDS

Notes:

[1] Fossilflation: how oil and gas prices drive inflation and how households can be protected

The research relies on official consumer inflation datasets and recognised international commodity benchmark databases. Consumer price index (CPI/HICP) time series and basket weightings were sourced directly from Eurostat and the European Central Bank (ECB) for the Euro Area and Destatis for Germany. Global energy benchmark prices—including Brent crude in euros and Dutch TTF natural gas—were compiled via market databases like Macrobond. Using these official figures, the analysis used econometric methods—including variance decomposition, local projections, OLS regressions, and counterfactual index modeling—to isolate fossil energy pass-through and simulate household electrification savings.

Contacts:

John Noël, Campaigner, Greenpeace International, jnoel@greenpeace.org

Dr. Mauricio Vargas, Economist and Financial Expert, +49 151 11765567, mvargas@greenpeace.org

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

When oil and gas prices rise, people can end up paying more for essentials. The war on Iran has exposed this vulnerability again. Dependence on fossil fuels leaves people’s living costs tied to conflict, disrupted supplies and volatile international markets.

Download the Report

Written by Dr Mauricio Vargas, an economist at Greenpeace Germany, and published by Greenpeace International, this report examines fossilflation, the inflationary pressure caused by rising fossil fuel prices. Drawing on data for the eurozone and Germany, it investigates how energy prices drive changes in inflation and how renewable energy and electrification can reduce exposure to price shocks.

Key findings

• Energy drove the total rise in eurozone inflation in 2026. The annual inflation rate increased from 1.7% in January to 3.2% in August. Energy’s contribution more than accounted for that increase, while other components partly offset it.
  
• Without the oil-price shock, August inflation would have been substantially lower. The analysis estimates a eurozone inflation rate of 2.2%, rather than 3.2%, had oil prices remained at their January level.
  
• Energy has been a major source of inflation volatility. Energy accounted for 97% of fluctuations in the eurozone’s overall inflation rate between January 2024 and August 2026. This measures movements in the inflation rate, not the proportion of every price increase caused by energy.
  
• Electrification and renewables can help protect people from fuel-price shocks. In a German household simulation using electric heating and transport, solar panels and battery storage, the modelled mix of consumer purchases rose in price by 1.5% between January and August 2026, compared with 2.5% for the official consumer basket. The simulation excludes upfront investment costs and does not guarantee the same savings for everyone. 

Reducing fossil fuel dependence can help protect people’s budgets

The report argues that replacing oil and gas with renewable electricity should be part of governments’ response to rising living costs. Changing fossil fuel suppliers does not remove exposure to international fuel-price shocks. Investment in decentralised renewable energy, storage, electricity networks and electric heating and transport can help reduce that dependence. 

Greenpeace calls for peace and action to protect people from the costs of fossil fuel dependence. Governments must make the transition accessible, including to people who cannot afford the upfront costs of cleaner energy and transport. Renewable energy is not just a climate tool; it must be taken as an urgent measure for peace and economic security.

Download the report:

Fossilflation: how oil and gas prices drive inflation and how households can be protected

Yerevan, Armenia – At the UN Biodiversity COP17, negotiations have hit a plateau. Greenpeace calls on governments to get their act together and focus on the actions needed to achieve the targets of the globally agreed framework to protect biodiversity (KM-GBF) and prevent corporate lobbyists from capturing the negotiations. The ministerial High-Level Segment, taking place during the second week, must provide the political leadership needed to deliver a strong, action-oriented response to the Convention’s first Global Review, with just four years left to meet those targets.

An Lambrechts, Biodiversity Politics Expert, Greenpeace International said: “COP17 has taken stock of the gaps that must be closed to keep the 2030 targets within reach. Countries agree there is a problem. They now need to own the moment and move from recognition to action, match ambition with sufficient funding flowing in the right direction and address the drivers of biodiversity loss. Governments must send a strong signal that they are ready to walk the talk. That includes reforming subsidies and fiscal and financial policies to align with nature and human rights protection.”

Language on human rights-based approaches and the rights and roles of Indigenous Peoples and local communities also remains under pressure across several agenda items. Discussions on the governance of the new subsidiary body on Article 8(j) raise concerns about respect for self-determination, as governments debate how Indigenous Peoples and local communities should be represented rather than allowing them to decide for themselves.

Solomon “Uncle Sol” Kaho’ohalahala, Indigenous Native Hawaiian Elder, said: “It is unacceptable that governments are still trying to decide who is going to represent Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the negotiations, given our critical role as nature protectors. Indigenous Peoples and local communities are not just terms to be discussed in negotiation rooms, and added or deleted from text agreements. We are the ones standing on the frontlines of nature protection, fighting for our survival and for the future of the planet. We can make our own decisions, our rights must be respected and our voices must be heard.”

On Saturday evening, Greenpeace lit up Yerevan’s iconic Opera Theatre with a question for world leaders: “What future do you want?” The projection brought the biodiversity crisis into the heart of the city, highlighting the risk of missing 30×30 and money flowing to destructive industries. Ahead of COP17’s final week and ministerial High-Level Segment, its message was clear: “Delay is destruction.”

Camila Jardim, International Political Expert, Greenpeace Brazil said: “The decisions governments make in Yerevan will matter beyond this conference. COP17 must send a strong signal to the UN climate conference, COP31, that climate and biodiversity action must reinforce each other, with the protection and restoration of high-integrity ecosystems and respect for rights guiding both decisions and implementation. Governments must use this final week to agree on concrete actions and return home ready to deliver them. There is no time for further delay.”

ENDS

Photo and Video are available in the Greenpeace Media Library.

Contacts:

Diego Gonzaga, Communications Lead at CBD COP17, Greenpeace International, +1 415 527 9440, dgonzaga@greenpeace.org

Jaqueline Sordi, Media Lead at COP17, Greenpeace International, +55 51 99678 9048, jsordi@greenpeace.org

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

Demanding action from world leaders at CBD COP17 in Armenia, protesting a gas project in Australia, and calls for Big Tech regulations in Brazil, here are a few of our favourite images from Greenpeace work around the world this week.

Armenia – Activists send a message to world leaders at the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The 17th UN Biodiversity Conference, CBD COP17, takes place in Yerevan, Armenia, from 19-30 October, 2026. Greenpeace is at the CBD to demand governments address gaps in the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) with concrete action, close the biodiversity finance gap, ensure quality of 30×30, from forests to the high seas, by safeguarding ecosystem integrity and respecting rights, and maximise synergies between climate and biodiversity action.

Armenia – Greenpeace International and Indigenous Peoples and local communities from around the world deployed an artistic installation to the centre of the UN Biodiversity Conference to demand delegates at CBD COP17 to recognise and respect the rights and roles of Indigenous Peoples and local communities as the foundation for achieving global biodiversity targets.

Australia – Greenpeace activists deploy massive 14m x 12m banner that reads ‘Stop Woodside’s Dirty Gas. Save Scott Reef.’ upon a Floating Production Unit at Woodside’s Scarborough gas project over 200km off the coast of Exmouth in peaceful protest of Woodside’s reckless plans to drill for oil and gas at Scott Reef.

Mexico – The results of a water quality study conducted by Greenpeace Mexico in August 2026—involving community-based monitoring and laboratory analysis at 17 sampling sites, including wells and *cenotes* (sinkholes) across 6 locations in the state of Yucatán—confirmed contamination by organic matter, harmful bacteria, excess nutrients, and indicators of porcine fecal matter. Two additional studies, carried out in 2024 and 2026 by the *Red en Defensa del Agua y el Territorio Maya To’one Ja’o’on* (“We Are Water” Network) across five overlapping sites in 5 municipalities, confirmed—using the “Pig2Bac” method—that the source of the contamination is large-scale pig fecal matter. These analyses were performed at the laboratories of Johns Hopkins University (United States) and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

In response to these findings, the organisation carried out a symbolic intervention at one of the *cenotes* sampled last August. Through this action, they issued a firm call to the relevant environmental authorities to implement a moratorium, enforce strict regulations, or shut down this type of industry, while also demanding comprehensive protection for the Mayan Forest (both its surface and its subterranean environment).

Brazil – Less than a week before the elections, Greenpeace Brazil joined hundreds of activists and civil society organizations at Meta’s headquarters in São Paulo (Meta Platforms is an American multinational technology company) in a peaceful protest to send a clear message: Meta, keep your hands off our election! Thousands of complaints compiled by the CTRL+Z organization exposed serious failures on Meta’s platforms that are interfering with Brazil’s elections, manipulating social media, and threatening our democracy. We don’t need anyone meddling in our choices. We urgently need regulation of Big Tech! Brazil decides Brazil’s future.

Spain – A massive mobilisation of civil society and institutional groups including Greenpeace Spain is demanding that the Regional Government of Andalusia immediately revoke the permits for toxic discharges into the river’s estuary.

Organisations warn of the risk of turning the Guadalquivir into a “sewer for mining waste” through the discharge of more than 115,000 million liters of water contaminated with heavy metals. These discharges threaten protected areas of high ecological value, such as Doñana and the Natura 2000 network, and also pose a threat to public health due to their impact on fisheries, agriculture, and the drinking water we obtain from aquifers.

Germany – Greenpeace agriculture experts measure nitrate levels in surface waters near Karlstadt in der Main-Spessart constituency, represented in the federal parliament by Alexander Hoffmann(CSU). The environmental campaigners take a water sample from the local stream and analyse the results on site.

Greenpeace has been a pioneer of photo activism for more than 50 years, and remains committed to bearing witness and exposing environmental injustice through the images we capture.

To see more Greenpeace photos and videos, please visit our Media Library.