Fossil fuel giant BP accused of 'profiting off misery' after announcing staggering earnings

Fossil fuel giant BP has posted staggering profits of £2.2bn for the second quarter of this year.

The company is expected to use the better-than-expected windfall to funnel high dividends and share buy-backs to its shareholders.

In total, the firm has paid out a staggering £11.7bn ($14.8bn) to shareholders since June 2023, analysis by Global Witness suggests. This month marked the start of the world’s first year-long breach of the key 1.5 degree warming limit.

BP are “profiting off people’s misery”, said Alice Harrison, head of fossil fuel campaigns at Global Witness.

“As the world faces record-breaking heat, most of us are desperate to see urgent action on the climate crisis. Unfortunately, it’s clear that BP couldn’t care less,” she said.

“While millions of us struggle with high temperatures and high bills, BP are raking in billions of profits, paying out massive dividends, and doubling down on dirty new oil and gas projects.”

Izzie McIntosh, climate campaigner at Global Justice Now, echoed this concern.

“These mammoth profits for BP come at the expense of our climate, communities and the global south facing the most brutal impacts of a climate crisis they did not cause,” she said.

Despite a growing focus on the green transition, emissions aren’t shrinking. Global energy-related CO2 emissions grew by 1.1% in 2023, reaching a new record high of 37.4 billion tonnes.

Fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and natural gas, are rich in carbon, and release CO2 into the atmosphere when burned. Up to 90% of the CO2 emissions come from the fossil fuel industry, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

BP – and other fossil fuel companies – have nonetheless continued to invest in oil and gas. In 2023, BP scaled back its target of cutting emissions by 2030, from 25–40% to 20–30%, citing continuing demand.

Last quarter, BP approved the Kaskida oil project in the Gulf of Mexico  and suspended investment in offshore wind.

Competitor giant Shell announced earnings of £6.2bn in Q1 this year. The Big Issue calculated some of the ways it could be better used – from part-electrifying the UK rail network to putting solar panels on 1.13 million British homes.

Both Global Justice Now and Global Witness called on the government to crack down on fossil fuel giants.

Yesterday (29 July), Labour confirmed an increase to the Energy Profit Levy – commonly known as the windfall tax – taking the headline tax rate for the sector to 78% and extending it to March 2030.

The party has no plans for a phase-down of existing gas-fired power plants, with its manifesto promising “oil and gas production in the North Sea with us for decades to come”. It does, however, intend to stop the construction of any new plants.

The party has also launched Great British Energy, a nationally owned organisation that will invest billions in renewable energy projects.

“This new partnership will help accelerate the deployment of clean energy we need, help generate good jobs in our country and generate wealth for the taxpayer,” said Keir Starmer.

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