The US and Israel’s war on Iran is not only a human tragedy. It is also a textbook example of the fossil fuel industry’s war playbook, turning oil and gas chaos into record profits while people face higher bills. Governments can either keep playing along, or break the cycle with renewables and justice‑based solutions.

War, energy shock and a playbook written in oil and gas profits

The US and Israel’s war on Iran is shattering lives across Iran and the wider region. Civilians pay first and hardest with their lives or living through fear, displacement, destroyed infrastructure and deepening environmental harm, while the risk of a wider regional war grows by the day. Greenpeace condemns these attacks, calls for an immediate end to the violence and a return to real diplomacy under credible international oversight and cooperation.

At the very same time, the conflict is triggering a huge fossil fuel and petrochemical shock. Shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil and gas chokepoints, are being disrupted, pushing up prices for fuel, food, plastics and everyday goods. Families in countries that had no say in this war are suddenly paying more at the pump, at the supermarket and on their energy bills. That is not an accident. It is the result of a fossil fuel based energy system that turns every crisis into a profit engine for oil and gas companies.

We have been here very recently. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, fossil fuel giants cashed in on the energy chaos, with Big Oil more than doubling its profits in what became a historic windfall year. The war on Iran is now exposing the same pattern on an even more volatile stage. From Ukraine to Hormuz, the fossil fuel industry is following a predictable war playbook designed to turn instability into power, pollution and profit.

Inside the fossil fuel industry’s war playbook

The fossil fuel industry’s war playbook has one core message: fossil fuels are essential. Around that story, the industry repeats a set of moves whenever conflict hits a major producing region.

First, fossil fuel companies and the politicians enabling them amplify fear and scarcity while ignoring their central role in the problem, and presenting themselves as the solution. European and Asian governments are told to brace for shortages and blackouts. This creates a sense that there is no alternative to more drilling, more liquefied natural gas (LNG) and more public money for fossil fuel infrastructure. And that’s precisely what oil and gas giants want: all their “solutions” are about doubling down on the fossil fuels that got us into the crisis, deepening dependence and ensuring they can continue to profit from crises for decades to come. Their tactics are all self-serving and follow a consistent pattern: protect and maximise profits, entrench dependency, and shift costs onto the public.

Second, the industry declares itself indispensable. During the gas crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US LNG exporters presented themselves as “freedom gas” rescuers of Europe. Literally a few hours after the Russian invasion in Ukraine they asserted themselves with “a critical role to play in supporting European allies with access to a stable supply of reliable and affordable energy” Today, as Iran war disruptions ripple through shipping lanes, the same companies are positioning themselves as the answer again, promising to provide “abundant and reliable energy”  if governments approve new export terminals, pipelines and long‑term contracts. Let’s not be mistaken: these are self-serving tactics designed to protect and maximise profits, and deepen fossil fuel dependency while people bear the costs.

Third, they normalise price shocks and externalise blame. Oil and gas majors present soaring prices as an unfortunate but unavoidable result of war, sanctions or environmental rules, rather than of a system that concentrates control of essential fuels in the hands of a few countries and corporations. Central banks and market analysts talk about inflation and “market anxiety”, while fossil fuel CEOs quietly bank windfall profits and increase shareholder payouts.

Finally, they demand expansion. In Europe, Asia and beyond, industry lobbyists use the Iran war energy shock to argue for fast‑tracking LNG terminals, locking in new gas fields and weakening environmental and social safeguards that “stand in the way”. All this hardwires decades more fossil fuel dependence into our economies that goes directly to fossil fuel companies’ bottom line. Scientists and frontline communities warning that every new project deepens climate breakdown and exposure to future wars are ignored.

This is not just about energy policy. It is about power and profits. Every time governments follow the fossil fuel war playbook, they reinforce an extractive system that enriches a few while treating nature as a resource to be burned and human life as a disposable cost.

People are paying the price, polluters are counting the wins

For millions of people, the war on Iran energy shock is  making the cost of living crisis worse. When oil and gas prices spike, fuel and electricity bills rise. Food and transport costs follow, with low income households and communities in the global South hit hardest. No one should have to choose between heating and eating, or between paying the rent and paying for a bus to work, because of a war they did not choose.

Meanwhile, the winners are painfully clear. Energy researchers estimate that US oil producers alone could see tens of billions of dollars in additional profits as crude prices climb past US$100 a barrel. Russia’s oil income reportedly doubled in April compared with before the conflict, and major European oil companies have already made hundreds of millions by trading on war‑driven price swings. This is on top of the record profits that oil and gas firms made during the previous crises, from Covid‑19 supply shocks to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Price shocks are not a bug in this system. They are a feature. Every time war, sanctions or blockades disrupt fossil fuel flows, the same pattern repeats. Import‑dependent countries scramble for supply. Households and small businesses pay higher bills. Oil and gas majors, petrochemical firms and their shareholders collect extraordinary gains. The system is working exactly as designed, but not for us.

Governments that respond to this crisis by expanding fossil fuels are choosing to reinforce the very cause of the problem. They are letting the industry that engineered our dependence write the rules.

Breaking the war playbook: protection, renewables and justice

The way out of this fossil fuel war cycle is clear. Governments can choose a crisis response that does two things at once: ensure people’s access to energy at lower cost and cut fossil fuel dependence for good.

In the short term, that means targeted support for households and small businesses, funded by bold taxes on oil and gas profits. Polluters that profit from instability and environmental harm must pay for the damage they cause, instead of being buffered against price shocks with public money while people already suffering with the cost of living bear the burden of the energy crisis. Tax cuts and fossil fuel subsidies only protect the profit of the powerful oil companies. On the other hand, new national level surtaxes and a global tax on fossil fuel superprofits under a UN tax convention could raise hundreds of billions to lower energy bills, strengthen social protection and invest in climate‑safe solutions.

Governments must stop pouring public money into new oil, gas and petrochemical projects. Every euro, dollar or rupee invested in LNG terminals, pipelines or refineries today locks in decades more exposure to volatile prices, autocrats and climate chaos. Instead, public funds should flow into projects that ensure long-term economic resilience and energy security: renewable‑centred energy systems, home insulation, public transport, local and sustainable food systems and reuse infrastructure that reduce overall demand for fossil fuels and plastics.

Renewables are already showing what real energy security can look like. You cannot blockade the sun or sanction the wind. Countries that have scaled up solar, wind and storage are less exposed to fossil fuel price shocks than those that still rely heavily on imported oil and gas. Decentralised and democratically owned renewable systems are harder to sabotage, less vulnerable to shipping disruptions and better able to keep homes, schools and hospitals running during crises.

From the war on Iran to the war in Ukraine, this crisis keeps proving the same point: a fossil‑fuelled economy creates fossil‑fuelled wars and price shocks. We can keep following this fossil fuel war playbook, or scrap it and build energy systems that put people, peace and the planet ahead of corporate profit.

Make war profiteers pay

We must tax the fossil fuel corporations profiting from these crises instead of letting them pass on the cost to us.

Dimitris Ibrahim is a climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace International, based in Athens. Mehdi Leman is a Content Editor for Greenpeace International, based in France.

Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise is sailing with the Global Sumud Flotilla to support a peaceful civilian mission challenging the blockade on Gaza and demanding safe, unhindered humanitarian access.

30 April 2026 update | Israeli forces intercept and threaten Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters, a number of participants kidnapped

The Israeli military launched a violent intervention against flotilla vessels yesterday evening (April 29), and their attacks continued all night. It started with threatening radio messages and communication jamming, and it continued with the boarding of multiple flotilla boats and the abduction of the people onboard. You can read our press release here.

At this stage, it is still unclear how many boats have been boarded or damaged, how many people kidnapped and what will happen to them. Head here for Global Sumud Flotilla updates.

Our crew and campaign team on the Arctic Sunrise have not been in direct contact with the Israeli attackers, and are all safe. They have been active all night, and are still at work this morning, to guide flotilla vessels towards safer waters and to assess how we can contribute to further rescue work for damaged vessels.

26 April 2026 update | The Arctic Sunrise departs Syracuse, Italy with the Global Sumud Flotilla

The Arctic Sunrise has departed Syracuse, Italy, continuing its journey alongside the Global Sumud Flotilla as the fleet presses east across the Mediterranean. The flotilla now consists of more than 50 ships, making it the largest flotilla ever assembled to attempt to break the siege. More ships are expected to join later.

Together with humanitarian rescue organisation Open Arms, our crew is working around the clock to keep the flotilla moving, performing complex engine and gearbox overhauls, restoring electrical systems, delivering food supplies and transferring doctors between vessels. Our small boat teams are being pushed to the limit with demanding towing operations and rapid-response transfers, getting support where it is most needed.

The ship’s role is clear: to provide technical and operational maritime support to the people-led flotilla and assist the vessels in safely transiting across the Mediterranean before they complete the last 200 nautical miles onto Gaza’s shores.

This is an act of solidarity, practical support and non-violent resistance, rooted in the belief that when governments fail to protect life and uphold international law, people will still come together to act.

This mission builds on earlier flotilla efforts to break the silence around Gaza. In 2024 and 2025, previous flotillas challenged the blockade and drew international attention to the humanitarian crisis. In September 2025, the Sumud Flotilla sailed with 42 boats and 462 people before Israeli forces intercepted and forcibly boarded the vessels about 70 nautical miles off the Gaza coast, cutting communications and jamming signals. 

The 2026 flotilla continues that same spirit of civilian resistance, but on a larger scale and with renewed determination to demand humanitarian access and justice.

Why this matters now – children, medics, journalists, aid workers, humanity

Gaza has been subjected to a scale of death and destruction that is almost impossible to absorb. Between 7 October 2023 and 14 January 2026, 71,439 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 171,324 injured, according to Gaza health ministry figures reported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

As of mid-February 2026, around 1.4 million of Gaza’s 2.1 million people were displaced, with many living in roughly 1,000 makeshift sites. Even after the October 2025 “ceasefire” announcement, OCHA said hundreds more Palestinians were killed, with the reported toll since that announcement rising to 689 by late March 2026.

The genocide in Gaza has also been marked by the killing of the very people trying to save lives and tell the world what is happening – aid workers and journalists.

Amnesty International said at least 408 aid workers had been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023, including at least 280 UNRWA staff and 34 Palestine Red Crescent Society staff. The New Humanitarian described Gaza’s aid worker death toll as unprecedented, noting that in just three months the number of humanitarians killed there exceeded the deadliest year ever recorded globally for aid workers. 

Press freedom groups have described this as the deadliest conflict for journalists since CPJ began recording such data in 1992, and a June 2025 public appeal said nearly 200 journalists had been killed by the Israeli military over 20 months. 

In a small, enclosed territory, that concentration of civilian killing, displacement, hunger and attacks on medics, aid workers and reporters has become a defining feature of the war. And it’s spreading.

As Ghiwa Nakat, executive director of Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa says, “The devastation inflicted on Gaza has become a dangerous doctrine of impunity, now spreading to Lebanon through massacres, relentless destruction, and deepening human suffering. The Greenpeace ship is joining this people-led mission to demand safe, unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza and to challenge the illegal blockade that continues to devastate civilian life. We stand firmly against war crimes, deliberate starvation, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and ecocide. This flotilla is a call to governments around the world to end their silence, protect humanitarian action, and act with urgency and principle to uphold international law, human dignity, and justice.”

War is scarring lives, ecosystems and the region for decades

War does not only destroy homes and families. It poisons land and water, wrecks food systems, leaves mountains of toxic rubble and turns recovery into a struggle that can last for generations.

Analysis estimated that the first 120 days of the war generated a mean 536,410 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, with 90% linked to Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza. The same analysis highlighted heavy metal contamination and severe damage to air, water and land, and found that by May 2024 around 57% of Gaza’s cropland had been damaged.

Across the region, war and militarisation are tearing through ecosystems, livelihoods and public health, from Gaza to Lebanon, Iran, and beyond. That is why peace, justice and environmental protection cannot be separated: a liveable future depends on all three.

What you can do

Follow the Global Sumud Flotilla and share verified updates, especially on Instagram and Facebook, so that Gaza is not pushed out of view.

Support calls for a permanent ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian access, a comprehensive arms embargo and an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine.

You can take action by signing petitions, including:

• Greenpeace Nordic – Tell Equinor to end the partnership with Ithaca Energy and cancel the Rosebank oil field
• Greenpeace UK – Stop British-made weapons being used in Gaza
• Greenpeace Spain – No más armas para el genocidio en Gaza
• Greenpeace Aotearoa – Call for sanction on Israel
• Greenpeace MENA – Join MENA voices calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza
• Greenpeace Canada – Tell Canada to stop arming Israel
• Greenpeace Indonesia – Global Sumud Flotilla: Let’s break the siege
• Amnesty International – Lift the blockade on Gaza and stop the genocide
• Doctors Without Borders – Stop the genocide. Let Gaza live

The Global Sumud Flotilla details how its supporters can play a crucial role by: 

• Organising actions and demonstrations 
• Amplifying verified mission updates 
• Pressuring governments to uphold international law 
• Supporting Palestinian-led relief and reconstruction efforts.

With mass displacement, shattered infrastructure and urgent humanitarian needs still defining daily life in Gaza, every bit of solidarity makes a difference.

Fair winds and following seas to all sailing for peace and justice.

Pujarini Sen is project lead for the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise ship joining the Global Sumud Flotilla

Amsterdam, Netherlands – Greenpeace Netherlands has taken the first step towards legal action against meat giant JBS, demanding disclosure of information on its climate, nature and human rights impacts in order to challenge in court its business policies, including its planned US$6 billion global expansion, of which almost half is for Nigeria.

Just hours later, Greenpeace Netherlands activists shut down JBS’ first shareholder meeting in the Netherlands since relocating to the country last year. Activists from across Europe disrupted the meeting at the Sheraton Hotel at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, installing a banner bearing the slogan ‘JBS: Keep Your Bloody Business Out of Africa’, which rained fake blood over the entrance to the hotel. 

Inside the hotel, a 10m x 15m banner featuring JBS’ majority shareholders, Brazilian billionaires Joesley and Wesley Batista, was unveiled in the 8-story hotel atrium. Activists then entered the conference room where the meeting was taking place, leading to the suspension of the meeting.

Elizabeth Atieno, Food Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, said: “The growth of JBS’ meat empire has been hand-in-glove with environmental destruction, colossal emissions, human rights abuses, corruption, and a total lack of transparency. Now it plans to export this business model to other sub-Saharan Africa countries . As well as locking-in spiralling emissions for decades to come, JBS’ predatory expansion in Nigeria threatens to cause irreversible environmental damage and displace smallholder farmers to line the pockets of wealthy international elites.

“Nigerians know well from the legacy of companies like Shell the destructive impact wrought by unchecked corporate power. This legal intervention affirms that corporations have obligations to transparency and human rights regardless where they operate in the world. The time of extractive industries operating with impunity on this continent is over. We must stop this new wave of destruction before it starts.”

In a legal letter delivered to the Amsterdam headquarters of JBS parent company JBS N.V. this morning, Greenpeace Netherlands’ lawyers set out multiple alleged breaches by JBS of Dutch law stemming from the extensive emissions and long history of environmental damage and human rights abuses linked to its business. JBS’ expansion plans risk further exacerbating these harms, it argues, raising serious concerns that expansion will be inconsistent with the company’s climate and biodiversity obligations and represent a continued breach of Dutch duty of care, which requires companies to act in line with international human rights law.[1]

Under new legislation that allows access to data held by Dutch companies for the purpose of bringing litigation, the letter demands that JBS disclose within three weeks assessments it holds relating to the climate, nature and human rights impacts of its historic operations and its planned expansion. Should the company fail to comply, Greenpeace Netherlands is entitled to seek the required information in the form of documents and from senior JBS figures under oath, raising the prospect of the Batista brothers being forced to testify in Dutch court.

Marieke Vellekoop, Executive Director at Greenpeace Netherlands, said: “JBS was warned that if it brought its bloody business to the Netherlands, we would do everything in our power to ensure it complies with Dutch law. Today, we are following through on that promise.

“JBS’ six billion dollar global expansion is following its usual playbook: peddling empty promises, refusing transparency and sidelining communities. Greenpeace Netherlands’ innovative legal intervention forces JBS out of the shadows, exposing its historic and ongoing destructive impacts and laying the ground for a first major climate and nature lawsuit against the predatory expansion of the global meat industry.”

In November 2024, JBS announced an agreement with the government of Nigeria for US$ 2.5 billion investment over five years comprising the construction of six meat-processing plants.[2] Civil society groups in Nigeria have raised serious concerns, citing environmental, health, and social risks associated with industrial animal farming, which is yet to establish a foothold in Africa.[3]

“We have seen this before,” said Elujulo Opeyemi, Executive Director at Youth in Agroecology and Restoration Network (YARN), on behalf of Nigeria’s Climate Justice Movement. “A foreign company arrives with big promises: jobs, development, progress, and instead leaves a trail of destruction whose price communities pay for decades. The Niger Delta is our reminder of what happens when governments open the door to destructive corporations without asking the hard questions first. We are asking those questions now, and we expect answers before a single plant is built.”

There is no available evidence that JBS has conducted any environmental and social impact assessments or consultations with communities and other stakeholders in Nigeria, and efforts by civil society to gather more information via Freedom of Information requests have reportedly been ignored.[4] Last month, Greenpeace Africa submitted an amicus curiae brief before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights arguing that allowing multinational corporations to expand without meaningful environmental safeguards constitutes a failure of the State’s duty to protect human rights. The brief points specifically to JBS’ Nigeria expansion as an example

In June 2025, JBS concluded a decade-long effort to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange. As part of the listing, JBS reconstituted as a Dutch company, moving its headquarters from Sao Paulo to Amsterdam. Before the listing, Greenpeace International warned JBS shareholders that it would ‘do its part to make sure JBS operates within Dutch law’.

ENDS

Photos and videos available from the Greenpeace Media Library

[1] This follows a similar legal reasoning to the recently filed Milieudefensie v Shell case. Media briefing with further details on the legal letter and JBS’ global expansion plans, including in Nigeria. Full letter available at Greenpeace Netherlands: Information request Greenpeace Netherlands to JBS (in English)

[2] JBS announcement

[3][4] Experts raise concerns over the risks of industrial animal farming (The Sun Nigeria)

Contacts:

Joe Evans, Agriculture Global Comms Lead at Greenpeace UK,  +44 7890 595387, jevans@greenpeace.org

Valerie Kierkels, Press Officer at Greenpeace Netherlands, +31621296895, vkierkels@greenpeace.org 

Ferdinand Omondi, Communications and Story Manager at Greenpeace Africa, +254 722 505 233, fomondi@greenpeace.org 

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

Note: This release headline and text was updated on 30 April to include photos and details of activists disrupting the JBS shareholders conference.

Santa Marta, Colombia – The landmark Santa Marta conference for the transition away from fossil fuels represents an important milestone on the road to long-term climate and energy stability. 

The coalition of countries emerging from the conference now need to spearhead ambitious national action at home and help drive momentum and concrete progress in the UNFCCC and beyond. A second conference will be jointly held by Tuvalu and Ireland in April 2027.

Among the key outcomes in Santa Marta, Greenpeace has also welcomed the establishment of a scientific panel, Science Panel for the Global Energy Transition, which will provide scientific input to policymakers to enable the clean energy transition. 

Shiva Gounden, Greenpeace Head of Delegation in Santa Marta and Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific said: “Santa Marta was a breath of fresh air, a real sign that the wind is finally shifting. But a signal isn’t a solution and the transition is still moving far too slowly for my people in the Pacific and all climate vulnerable communities. We’ve taken a much-needed first step, but now comes the hard work to actually break the hold fossil fuels have on our global security and keep the world within 1.5°C.”

“When we get to Tuvalu, the conversation has to change. We can’t just bring more ambition; we have to bring proof of implementation. Santa Marta gave us the momentum, but Tuvalu must be where we turn that momentum into a reality that keeps our homes and our people above water and our future safe.”

To coincide with the First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Greenpeace International has produced a policy briefing outlining the core elements of a just transition away from fossil fuels and the urgent, priority actions needed from national governments and through global co-operation to make it a reality.[1]

Laura Caicedo, Campaigns Coordinator, Greenpeace Colombia said: “This conference was an important space to put the just energy transition on the agenda ahead of the Climate COP. There is willingness and a sense of fresh momentum that is worth celebrating, but this is only the beginning: more time is needed for this process to mature into a true platform for dialogue that can inform decision-making in this and other cooperation spaces on key energy issues. However, it cannot become an excuse to delay the fulfillment of national commitments already made on emissions reductions, ecosystem protection, and the inclusion of people.” 

Anna Cárcamo, Climate Politics Specialist at Greenpeace Brazil said: “The Santa Marta conference was an important moment to listen to countries, subnational governments, scientists, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, people of African Descent, other important representative groups and the voices from the streets calling for a transition away from fossil fuels and presenting solutions.”

“Now we need to see this movement extend to action, while ensuring that the transition is fair, fast and funded and built on foundations of justice. Countries need to develop and implement their national roadmaps, with developed countries moving faster and providing quality finance to developing countries to implement their transitions, in a manner that does not deepen their debt.”

Rodrigo Estrada, Senior Climate Advisor, Greenpeace International said: “Amid a tense geopolitical context and worsening climate extremes, Santa Marta helped spark a feeling of renewed energy, but delegates must now follow through to deliver action, not just words. While households struggle with rising costs as the US-Israel war on Iran drives oil and gas profits higher, 57 nations in Santa Marta have also been looking for ways to finance a just transition. That solution starts with permanently taxing the profits, not just windfalls, of fossil fuel majors and replacing this system with renewable energy.”

ENDS

Photos are available in the Greenpeace Media Library. 

Notes:
[1] A Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels: Policy Briefing 

 
Contact:

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