In an open letter, CIDSE joins 30+ Irish and European organisations to urge the Irish EU Presidency to put the issue of fossil fuel profit taxation on the agenda of the next Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meeting on 18-19 September 2026, as already requested by six Member States: Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland, Spain and Portugal.
As people in Europe face extreme climate impacts and cost-of-living pressures in the second fossil fuel crisis in four years, while fossil fuel companies have accumulated huge profits, it is time to adopt a fair tax framework that contributes to the energy transition and raises the urgently needed resources to support households, firms and public budgets, including for international climate finance.
The underlined signatories believe that a first exchange of views in the Council could translate in a demand to the European Commission to:
- Monitor fossil fuel prices in real time, and publicly report on profit margins by fossil fuel companies operating in the EU on a periodic basis.
- Collect and analyse past and existing efforts to tax fossil fuel profits at national level and highlight best practices, including on revenue use.
- Explore possible tax designs, taking into account lessons learned from the 2022 Solidarity Contribution, as well as existing permanent top-up taxes on fossil fuel profits implemented in Norway and the United Kingdom.
- Explore mechanisms to prevent fossil fuel companies from shifting profit to low-tax jurisdictions, as profit shifting has been demonstrated to be very high in the fossil fuel sector, and even more prevalent in case of windfall profits. Unitary taxation of consolidated global profits should notably be explored.
- Propose ways to prevent investors’ protection provisions being used to avoid taxation of fossil fuel profits
SIGNATORIES
European and International civil society organisations:
- Anne Jellema, Executive Director, 350.org
- Mahi Sideridou, Managing Director, Beyond Fossil Fuels
- Sabine Frank, Executive Director, Carbon Market Watch
- Josianne Gauthier, Secretary General, CIDSE
- Chiara Martinelli, Director, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe
- Ioana Ciuta, Strategic Area Leader, CEE Bankwatch Network
- Claire Roumet, Strategic Partnerships and Coordination, Energy Cities
- Jean Saldanha, Director, European Network on Debt and Development
- Emily Iona Stewart, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Global Witness
- Magda Stoczkiewicz, Programme Director, Greenpeace European Unit
- Filipe Martins, Director, Jesuit European Social Centre
- Lorna Gold, Executive Director, Laudato Si’ Movement
- Marine Cornelis, Executive Director, Next Energy Consumer
- Martha Inés Romero, Secretary General, Pax Christi International
- Daan Creupelandt, Managing Director, REScoop.eu
- Antony Froggatt, Senior Director, Transport & Environment (T&E)
- Kelsey De Porte, Digital Campaigner, WeMove Europe
Irish civil society organisations:
- Seán Farrell, CEO, Trócaire
- Karol Balfe, CEO, ActionAid Ireland
- Toni Pyke, Justice Peace and Ecology Coordinator, AMRI
- Rosamond Bennett, CEO, Christian Aid Ireland
- Lara Kelly, Congregation Justice Office, Dominican Sisters Cabra, Ireland
- Wojciech Mroczek, Programmes Manager, Don Bosco Aid
- Jim Farrell, Chair, Eco-Congregation Ireland
- Deirdre Duffy, CEO, Friends of the Earth Ireland
- Karen Ciesielski, CEO, Irish Environmental Network and Coordinator, Environmental Pillar
- Niall Leahy SJ, Director, Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice
- Sr Anne Carbon, Congregational Leader, Missionary Sisters of St Columban
- Aoife O’Leary, CEO, Opportunity Green
- Jim Clarken, CEO, Oxfam Ireland
- Brian O’Toole, Director of Justice Desk, Presentation Sisters in Ireland
CIDSE contact: Pedro Guzmán, Energy and Extractivism Policy Officer, guzman(at)cidse.org
Cover image: Campaigners’ stunt outside the European Council calling on leaders to tax fossil fuel companies, June 2026. Credit: Can Kaya.