Empire of the Sun: Big Oil’s Foray in the Green Transition

The report details the expansion of 'Big Oil' companies like Shell and BP into the solar energy sector in Southern Europe. It highlights a pattern of using intermediary shell companies to acquire agricultural land and bypass environmental scrutiny and community participation. The authors argue that this 'extractive' model of the energy transition prioritizes corporate profit over food sovereignty and democratic engagement, while noting that Italy could meet its solar targets using rooftops and degraded land rather than fertile fields.

• Oil multinationals such as Shell and BP are expanding into the solar sector in Spain and Italy, often using intermediary limited liability companies with minimal capital to acquire land and manage permits, which can shield real ownership and create monopolies.
• Large-scale solar developments are frequently sited on fertile agricultural land, threatening food sovereignty and rural economies. In some Catalan municipalities, these projects could eliminate up to 20% of agricultural land.
• Developers are accused of using 'creative strategies' to avoid environmental oversight, such as splitting large projects into multiple smaller proposals to bypass stricter scrutiny, a practice that may be illegal under Spanish law 21/2013.
• There is a systemic lack of transparency and community involvement in these projects, with residents in Italy and Spain reporting that they are often notified only after construction has begun, circumventing the participatory rights guaranteed by the Aarhus Convention.
• Italy's 2024 ISPRA report indicates that the country could meet its 2030 photovoltaic targets without using additional agricultural land by utilizing rooftops, parking areas, and degraded land, with a potential capacity of 70 to 92 GW.
• Despite their foray into renewables, some oil majors are scaling back investments; Shell scrapped its 2035 net-zero goal and softened its 2030 emissions reduction plan due to gas demand and market uncertainty.

APA

Gironès, C., Polizzi, F., Fatolahzadeh, N., & Di Mauro, T. (2025). Empire of the Sun: Big Oil’s Foray in the Green Transition. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/wp-content/uploads/pdf/empire-of-the-sun-big-oils-foray-in-the-green-transition.pdf

Chicago

Gironès, Cristina, Francesca Polizzi, Nuri Fatolahzadeh, and Teresa Di Mauro. Empire of the Sun: Big Oil’s Foray in the Green Transition. Green European Journal, 2025. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/wp-content/uploads/pdf/empire-of-the-sun-big-oils-foray-in-the-green-transition.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gironès |first1=Cristina |last2=Polizzi |first2=Francesca |last3=Fatolahzadeh |first3=Nuri |last4=Di Mauro |first4=Teresa |title=Empire of the Sun: Big Oil’s Foray in the Green Transition |publisher=Green European Journal |date=3 July 2025 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/wp-content/uploads/pdf/empire-of-the-sun-big-oils-foray-in-the-green-transition.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{girons2025empire, author = {Gironès, Cristina and Polizzi, Francesca and Fatolahzadeh, Nuri and Di Mauro, Teresa}, title = {{Empire of the Sun: Big Oil’s Foray in the Green Transition}}, institution = {Green European Journal}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/wp-content/uploads/pdf/empire-of-the-sun-big-oils-foray-in-the-green-transition.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }