Fossil fuel profits set to soar to $3000 a second, as families struggle with energy costs

Six of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies are projected to earn $2967 a second in profits in 2026, new Oxfam research finds, ahead of the first global conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, taking place this week in Santa Marta, Colombia.

This marks an increase of almost $37 million a day compared to the 2025 profits of these six corporations – Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Exxon and TotalEnergies. The total projected fossil fuel profits of 2026 are $94 billion: enough to provide solar power for the energy needs of almost 50 million people in Africa.

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of people in the UK support increasing taxes on the profits of major oil and gas companies to fund the transition to renewable energy, according to new polling commissioned by Oxfam this month. Support is consistent across age groups, including 75% of those aged 18–34 and 72% of those aged 35–54.

The poll also shows that there is a clear generational momentum building behind the clean energy transition: three in four adults (75%) aged 18–34 believe the government should prioritise investment in renewable energy over expanding fossil fuel extraction — a striking signal that the next generation is firmly behind a shift towards a green energy matrix.

Currently, families around the world continue to be pushed into energy poverty as geopolitical instability, the impacts of escalating violence in the Middle East, and the sharp increase in the wealth of the super-rich in contrast to everyone else, are leaving ordinary people struggling to make ends meet.

A huge proportion of the profits from fossil fuels are going straight into the pockets of the wealthiest 1%, based mainly in the Global North, who are profiting from the subsequent climate destruction these corporations cause. They are also working to maintain global dependence on fossil fuels by monopolising wealth and political influence.

Fossil fuel corporations and the super-rich that profit from them are entrenching inequality and turning their backs on the people most impacted by the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis. Just last month, ExxonMobil announced a significant reduction of a third of its planned investment in low-carbon energy projects and TotalEnergies refused to adopt a net zero transition plan aligned with 1.5 degrees.

At Santa Marta, Oxfam calls on the UK government to:

End new oil and gas licensing in the North Sea. There is no room for new fossil fuel projects if we are to stay within the 1.5°C limit of the Paris Agreement. Approving new licences is incompatible with the UK’s climate commitments and will do nothing to bring down bills.

Send a clear global signal of its commitment to reducing fossil fuel dependence, in line with its ambition to become a “clean energy superpower”. Doing so will boost energy security and create clean, long-term jobs.

Ensure polluters pay their fair share for climate action. This must include introducing a permanent excess profits tax, once the existing Energy Profits Levy expires, and set it at a meaningfully high level. Such a measure would ensure that fossil fuel companies and their shareholders are fairly taxed, without passing the burden onto already strained consumers.

Commit to a just transition towards a fairer, greener future. The UK Government in collaboration with the devolved governments must develop a national just transition plan - one that sets out a pathway to a fairer, greener, and more caring economy. This plan should make reducing inequality a key aim, ensuring that the costs and benefits of the transition are shared equitably.