“Europe cannot afford another missed opportunity”: Financial Justice Ireland calls for action on fossil fuel profits

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | 18 September 2026

“Europe cannot afford another missed opportunity”: Financial Justice Ireland calls for action on fossil fuel profits

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil calls for EU windfall tax proposals by October as France raises questions over the fair distribution of multinational tax revenues.

Financial Justice Ireland is calling on the Irish Government to seize the opportunity for global financial justice as EU Finance Ministers gather in Dublin today and tomorrow, 18th & 19th September.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil has called on the European Commission to present proposals for taxing fossil fuel windfall profits by October, following a joint request from six EU countries.

Meanwhile, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure has questioned whether Ireland’s substantial tax revenues from technology multinationals should be more fairly distributed across Europe, reflecting the profits generated across different countries.

Hilary Darcy, Director of Financial Justice Ireland, said:

“Europe cannot afford another missed opportunity. As households struggle with rising costs and our planet faces accelerating climate and ecological breakdown, governments must confront who profits from these crises and who pays the price.

“Germany’s call for concrete proposals by October is an important opening. Ireland must use its EU Presidency to turn this momentum into action, ensuring that fossil fuel companies contribute fairly to a just transition and international climate finance.

“The French Minister’s intervention also raises a fundamental question: how do we ensure multinational profits are taxed fairly and that the benefits reach the people and countries generating that wealth? These are questions of global justice, not simply European competitiveness.

“The political conversations are happening. Now we need the courage to turn them into meaningful change.”

On Friday 18 September, as Finance Ministers meet, FJI will take the conversation onto the streets with its Culture Night event, There Is No Planet B: An IFSC Walking Tour in a Time of Climate Breakdown. 

Through speakers, protest, performance and music, the tour will explore the links between finance, fossil fuels, climate breakdown, tax justice, data centres, housing and the urgent need for a just transition that puts human flourishing and ecological survival before profit and endless economic growth.

ENDS

Notes to Editors 

The informal meeting of EU Economic and Financial Affairs Ministers (ECOFIN) takes place in Dublin on 18–19 September 2026 as part of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. 

There Is No Planet B: An IFSC Walking Tour in a Time of Climate Breakdown is organised by Financial Justice Ireland in collaboration with Culture Night Dublin and contributors from Unite the Union, Christian Aid Ireland, Comhlámh, Friends of the Earth Ireland, the European Commission Expert Group on Farmland, Community Action Tenants Union, Global Citizenship Education facilitators and the arts.

The event is co-funded by the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Financial Justice Ireland and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

About Financial Justice Ireland 

Financial Justice Ireland works through education, campaigning and research to challenge the structural causes of global economic and financial injustice and promote alternatives that put people and the planet first.

Media contact:

campaign@financialjustice.ie