New York – As the fifth round of negotiations on the Global Tax Treaty – also known as the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation – opens today in New York, Greenpeace International is calling on governments to raise their ambition. Gaps in the draft text, published in full for the first time, must be addressed so that global tax rules can help solve the connected climate, nature, and inequality crises, rather than letting corporate polluters and the super-rich profit while everyone else pays the price.

Nina Stros, Global Senior Policy Expert, Greenpeace International said: “Governments and delegates still have not grasped what is at stake but they face a simple choice. Create global tax rules to speed the transition to a fairer, more resilient future by disincentivising investment in environmentally destructive industries, ending tax-dodging, and holding wealthy polluters to account. Or keep shielding polluting corporations and the super-rich while communities pay the price through higher bills and climate devastation. The money is right there. It is about time governments recognised this once in a generation opportunity to make those most responsible for the climate, nature and inequality crises we are facing pay their share, and reclaim trillions of dollars to invest in our shared future.”

While the world recently saw its first-ever trillionaire, the largest oil and gas corporations are reporting another bonanza in second-quarter profits. Meanwhile, record-breaking heatwaves, rising ocean temperatures and the cost-of-living crisis continue to put communities under pressure worldwide.[1]

The newly published ‘zero draft’ of the Global Tax Treaty falls far short of the ambition needed to hold the wealthiest polluters to account. Negotiators must push back against the disconnect between this draft and the realities of the climate and inequality crises communities face.[2][3][4]

Despite 24 countries making submissions aligned with strengthening the Treaty’s Sustainable Development article, the text does not go beyond the high-level clause already in the terms of reference.[5][6] Governments are left with far too much room to continue with business as usual, rather than creating a clear new legal obligation to hold wealthy polluters to account through national and global tax mechanisms. Similarly, the polluter pays principle appears nowhere in the current draft. The article on taxing high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) has been weakened since the last round of negotiations in January 2026, reducing obligations on countries to act. The draft also fails to include any provisions on minimum profit taxation of multinational companies, or on the taxation of extractive industries and natural resources.

Ucizi Ngulube, Tax Justice Campaigner, Greenpeace Africa, said: “The global majority championed this United Nations process because the current global tax system is fundamentally unfair, serving a handful of wealthy nations and billionaires at the expense of everyone else. As we head into INC-5, countries must remain ambitious. We don’t need vague promises, we need bold proposals that stop the exploitation and inequality, and hold the ultra-rich polluters accountable for the climate damage they leave behind.”

By closing loopholes on profit-shifting and tax havens, and setting new taxes, nationally and globally, on the profits of the biggest polluters and on extreme wealth, countries could unlock public funds urgently needed for climate action, nature protection and essential public services.[7]

Mayor Melchor Mergal, Municipal Mayor of Salcedo, Eastern Samar, Philippines, survivor of super-typhoon Haiyan and member of Greenpeace delegation in New York said: “I have seen what the increasingly frequent and devastating storms can do to a community, and I know what it takes to rebuild. The money is needed for stronger homes, schools and health centres that can safeguard our communities against the next storm. The funds exist. What we are missing is the political will to make those most responsible pay for the damage. A strong treaty would give communities like mine the means to recover and to build real resilience through making polluters pay.”

Greenpeace International is calling on negotiators in New York to strengthen the sustainable development and HNWI articles in line with the proposals countries, experts and civil society groups have put forward, to include the polluter pays principle into the text, and ensure the treaty can reclaim at least one trillion US dollars per year in public finance for climate action, public services and a fair transition.

ENDS

A Greenpeace delegation, including Mayor Melchor Mergal, will be at INC-5 in New York. The delegation is available for comments or interviews before, during and after the talks.

Greenpeace media briefing for the key dynamics at INC-5, our analysis of the zero draft, and full background on the spokespeople.

Notes:

[1] As war on Iran drives record Q2 profits for Big Oil, communities struggle with extreme weather and soaring costs

[2] The Global Tax Treaty is the first genuinely inclusive forum for delivering fair and inclusive global rules. Unlike under the OECD, every country has an equal vote, and decisions are taken by majority rather than consensus. 

[3] In April, 57 countries met in Santa Marta, Colombia, to advance action on ending coal, oil and gas dependence. The final synthesis report highlights under-taxation of fossil profits as a barrier to a just transition, concluding that progressive tax reforms are necessary. 141 countries also voted for a just transition away from fossil fuels under a UN General Assembly resolution endorsing the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on climate change in May. 

[4] Co-Lead’s Zero Draft of UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (July 2026)

[5] Global Tax Treaty – briefing for champions on progressive polluter taxation

[6] United Nations General Assembly, Terms of reference for a United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation

[7] A Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels: Greenpeace Policy Briefing Policy Briefing 

Contact:

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

From calls for climate action in the Philippines and Switzerland, to protests demanding permanent protection of Raja Ampat. Here are a few of our favourite images from Greenpeace work around the world this week.

Philippines – Greenpeace Philippines and frontline communities challenge Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to ensure that his administration’s vision of development will protect people–not polluters–as he delivers his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), warning that the country cannot claim genuine progress while millions of Filipinos continue to bear the growing costs of extreme heat and the climate crisis.

Switzerland – The drought in Switzerland is continuing and is casting a shadow over the National Day with bans on open fires and fireworks. This summer shows what lies ahead for us. Due to global warming, summer droughts and the risk of weather-related forest fires will continue to increase.

Greenpeace activists are therefore in no mood to celebrate. On Thursday 30 July 2026, they unfurled a banner on the shores of Lake Constance at Mannenbach-Salenstein harbour bearing the slogan ‘No reason to celebrate. Climate action now!’. They are calling on Switzerland to finally acknowledge the climate crisis and take appropriate action: 100 million Swiss francs are needed for immediate measures to tackle heatwaves and protect the climate.

Indonesia – Greenpeace activists staged a peaceful, non-violent protest to reiterate their call for the full and permanent protection of the Raja Ampat ecosystem. This action involved unfurling banners reading “Protect Raja Ampat, Stop Dirty Energy” and “Is Your Car Powered by Forest Destruction?” just as Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita pressed the button to open the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) 2026, the largest annual automotive exhibition in Indonesia.

Spain – Artificial smoke, ashes, burnt logs and a black banner outside the Congress of Deputies reading “Spain is burning. Your inaction is killing us”. This is how Greenpeace Spain activists peacefully protested this morning in Madrid to show their solidarity with the thousands of people affected by the fires, as well as demanding that political groups and administrations act and engage in real politics to address the climate emergency. All this at the start of a fourth heatwave and with much of the country affected by historic fires that have already claimed 15 direct fatalities and displaced more than 100,000 people.

New Zealand/Aotearoa – Greenpeace New Zealand activists dropped an 18-square-metre banner from a giant rimu tree to call for conservation land protections on New Zealand’s West Coast. They are protesting government reforms to conservation laws that would make it easier to commercially exploit and sell off public conservation land. The activists are recreating an iconic image from one of New Zealand’s most famous conservation campaigns, which successfully stopped native forest logging on public land across the country.

Germany – Greenpeace documents dead zones through research carried out on Boris Herrmann’s research yacht, the Malizia Explorer along the German Baltic Sea coast. Greenpeace scientists test the water with a CTD-Probe among other methods, for nitrate and phosphorous levels, temperature, oxygen and salt levels and for PFAS.

High numbers of factory farms lead to an increased production of liquid manure, which is later spread onto the fields, with traces eventually landing in the open seas after rainfall. These substances lead to detrimental conditions in the water and the sea bed, including so-called dead zones. Drone images of the Malizia Explorer just off the Schleswig-Holstein coast.

UK – As Shell announces record profits an electric advan outside Big Ben at Westminster is showing images of the damage caused by wildfires across Europe. The images raise awareness that the biggest polluters continue to profit while ordinary people bear the brunt of the costs of these climate disasters. It’s time to hold Shell accountable and demand they pay for the damage they’ve caused.

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.

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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