‘Colossal profits’: Christian leaders lambast fossil fuel giants as they demand EU windfall tax

By Ruth Wright Published on 21/05/2026 - 6:30 GMT+2 Share Comments Share Facebook Twitter Flipboard Send Reddit Linkedin Messenger Telegram VK Bluesky Threads Whatsapp

“Europe holds a historic duty and opportunity to lead the transition to a new era away from fossil fuels”, say faith groups from across the EU.

A coalition of Christian organisations has issued an urgent appeal to EU institutions: phase out fossil fuels and tax those who profit from them.

ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT

120 organisations from 20 EU countries have signed the first ever appeal of its kind.

“Europe has a unique opportunity and the moral responsibility to accelerate the phase out of fossil fuels and shift to clean energy, including through a permanent tax on the colossal profits of fossil fuel companies”, the document says. It was recently revealed by the Guardian newspaper that the world’s top 100 oil and gas companies made more than $30 million (€25.8m) every hour in profit in the first month of the US-Israeli war in Iran.

The appeal calls on the EU to “remain steadfast in its founding values of human dignity and the common good by accelerating a just energy transition.”

Signatory organisations include European and national faith-based institutions, including episcopal bodies, religious orders, social and environmental NGOs, international development charities, and Christian movements and communities. Organisations include Laudato Si’ Movement, Caritas Europa and the Central Committee of German Catholics.

Related

• Why do Catholics and Orthodox celebrate Easter on different dates?
• Laudato Si’: Pope Francis says he is writing a new document on the environment

Christian values ‘at a time of deepening ecological crisis’

In the appeal, called ‘Europe, Be Faithful for our Common Home’, the signatories say that for Christians’ care for creation is not optional, rather it is “essential to a life of virtue”. This leads them to ask: “What does it mean to love one’s neighbour at a time of deepening ecological crisis, which disproportionately impacts the poorest?”

They say the Global South, the world’s poorest countries, should be supported to invest in climate action “by cancelling unsustainable debts and supporting just taxation” as well as providing these countries with grants rather than loans. In 2024, developing countries held debts of $31 trillion (€26tn), according to UN Trade and Development.

Related

• The Sagrada Família closes in on completing its central tower and becoming Europe's tallest Christian church
• Cedars of God: Sacred forest once a refuge for Christians is now under siege from climate change

Tax fossil fuel companies

“Europe faces a stark choice: lead the phaseout of fossil fuels, or side with the most polluting companies responsible for half of global carbon emissions,” the document states.

Fossil fuel companies are widely acknowledged to be the world’s biggest polluters. Rather than siding with them the signatories call for their profits to be taxed, and for fossil fuel subsidies to be stopped. They ask for these taxes to “finance the energy transition and support the most vulnerable households.” In 2023, fossil fuel subsidies amounted to $620 billion (€534bn), according to the International Energy Agency.

Related

• Catholic Church to pay €1.6 million to abuse victims but says payments 'do not erase past'
• How the Orthodox church became a hybrid warfare weapon in Moldova's elections

EU 'omnibus' called into question

The signatories say “the EU is currently dismantling its own legislation and turning its back on its role as a global climate leader.” They point to what is known as the ‘environmental omnibus’ legislation: a raft of "simplifications" of environmental legislation that will lower standards and monitoring of industrial emissions and water protection.

While the European Commission says the measures are designed to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens, environmental groups oppose the changes saying they make it easier for manufacturers to pollute, and accusing the Commission of siding with industry heavyweights to the detriment of nature and people's health.

The Christian organisations say: “Too often, ‘simplification’ has led to deregulation, for instance, through the ongoing ‘Omnibus’ legislation: delaying climate commitments, increasing fossil fuel dependence, weakening due diligence, and cutting social and environmental safeguards.”

Related

• Christmas with AI-generated ‘Jesuses’ offer holiday guidance but raise faith and bias concerns
• My travels with Pope Francis: European Book Prize winner Javier Cercas talks faith, facts and lies

Faith groups have specific demands

The appeal calls on the EU “to be faithful to its founding values on human dignity and human rights, and set courageous goals to safeguard the present and the future.”

As to what these goals should be, the group has a few demands. The first pertains to the fossil fuel phaseout, calling for “a clear strategy to exit coal by 2030, gas by 2035, and oil by 2040, alongside an immediate ban on all new fossil fuel exploration and an end to permits for new fossil fuel infrastructure.”

The next demand is to “massively scale up investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and electrification, while promoting energy sufficiency and a circular economy to save resources.”

The last demand relates to the next seven-year EU budget, which is due to be finalised by late 2027. The Christian groups say it “must prioritise those struggling to pay their energy bills over the interests of corporations accumulating billions of Euros in profits.”

Go to accessibility shortcuts Share Comments

Read more

Earth News

Portugal racing to prevent ‘a terrible summer’ of wildfires