As deadly wildfires rage across southern Europe and heatwaves push health systems to breaking point, oil giant Shell has announced another quarter of massive profits, amassing billions of dollars and exceeding expectations – what observers and climate activists see as a symbol of a global system that rewards destruction while communities pay the price.
Indeed, Shell posted second-quarter profit of $4.26 billion, beating analyst expectations and saying it would buy back $3.5 billion of shares over the coming three months.
Shell’s Q2 earnings announcement comes amid record-breaking heat, floods, and fires that are killing people, displacing communities, and devastating ecosystems from Greece to Portugal. These profits – built on continued fossil fuel extraction – are said to represent not just a failure of corporate responsibility, but of political leadership.
Matilda Borgström, UK campaigner at 350.org, said: “Shell’s astronomical profits are a slap in the face to the millions already living through climate catastrophe. While communities are hit by floods, fires, and record heat, Shell is cashing in – fueling the crisis while dodging accountability. It’s time to Tax Their Billions and make fossil fuel giants pay for the damage they’ve caused and redirect that money to fund a just transition – clean energy, green jobs, vital public services and real climate solutions led by communities, not corporations.
“As public budgets for health care, climate adaptation, and disaster response are put under strain, companies like Shell continue to profit from pollution and extract obscene wealth without paying for the harm they cause. These profits come at a time when governments – including the UK’s – are cutting climate and development finance, claiming there’s “not enough money to go around.”
Campaigners are calling for:
- A tax on extreme wealth and fossil fuel profits, to ensure polluters pay what they owe.
- A rapid end to fossil fuel subsidies and the redirection of public finance to community-led renewable energy.
- Support for a UN Tax Convention, to stop corporate tax dodging and raise public revenues for climate and social needs.
According to the activists, the climate crisis is not a future threat – it is a present injustice. The firestorms sweeping Europe are a reminder that those least responsible are suffering the most, while fossil fuel giants continue to profit unchecked.
“It’s time to stop rewarding the arsonists. Governments must step up, tax polluters, and deliver the urgent, just transition the world needs,” they stated.