Fossil fuel profit taxation and agenda of the next ECOFIN meeting

A joint letter from European and Irish civil society organisations requests that Ireland, during its EU Presidency, advocate for an EU-wide tax on fossil fuel profits at the September 18-19, 2026, ECOFIN meeting. The authors argue that colossal industry profits, including €82 billion in post-tax profits from EU operations in 2023, should be taxed to fund the energy transition, support households, and provide international climate finance. They propose that the European Commission monitor profit margins, analyze national tax best practices, explore tax designs based on the 2022 Solidarity Contribution and models in Norway and the UK, and implement mechanisms to prevent profit shifting, such as unitary taxation of consolidated global profits.

• Fossil fuel companies have generated significant profits within the EU, with an estimated €82 billion in post-tax profits from EU operations in 2023. In the first half of 2026, eight major oil companies earned an additional €7.5 billion in Europe compared to the previous year, and six companies doubled their EU profits in the second quarter of 2026 due to Middle East volatility.
• The authors claim that emissions from oil and gas produced by firms headquartered in the EU since the 2015 Paris Agreement are projected to cause approximately €1.5 trillion in climate damages globally.
• The letter proposes five specific actions for the European Commission to undertake: real-time monitoring and reporting of profit margins, analysis of national tax efforts and revenue use, exploration of tax designs (referencing the 2022 Solidarity Contribution and systems in Norway and the UK), the use of unitary taxation to prevent profit shifting to low-tax jurisdictions, and the prevention of investor protection provisions from being used to avoid taxation.
• The document highlights the importance of international cooperation, mentioning the UN Tax Convention negotiations and Ireland's role in co-hosting the second International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in 2027 with Tuvalu, which should build on the Santa Marta Vision.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2026). Fossil fuel profit taxation and agenda of the next ECOFIN meeting. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Joint-Letter-Tanaiste-and-Finance-Minister-Simon-Harris-08092026.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Fossil fuel profit taxation and agenda of the next ECOFIN meeting. 2026. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Joint-Letter-Tanaiste-and-Finance-Minister-Simon-Harris-08092026.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Fossil fuel profit taxation and agenda of the next ECOFIN meeting |date=8 September 2026 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Joint-Letter-Tanaiste-and-Finance-Minister-Simon-Harris-08092026.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{carbonmarketwatch2026fossil, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Fossil fuel profit taxation and agenda of the next ECOFIN meeting}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2026}, month = sep, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Joint-Letter-Tanaiste-and-Finance-Minister-Simon-Harris-08092026.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }