Soaring fuel prices deepen global hunger and inequality amid record oil profits
For months, billions of people around the world have been paying more for fuelâwhether commuting to work, driving to school, or visiting sick parents. While German SUV drivers may barely notice the price hike, the surge has already had catastrophic consequences in markets across Nigeria. Rising oil prices don't just make driving more expensive; they also push up the cost of fertilizer, trucking, and ultimately staple foods. If the energy crisis persists beyond midyear, up to 45 million more people could face hunger, according to the UN World Food Programme.
Billions are footing the bill. But where is all that money going? As of yesterday, we at least know where some of our euros and dollars have ended up. British oil giant BP reported that its net profit more than doubled in the first quarter compared to last year. From January to March, BP raked in âŹ2.7 billionânearly âŹ1.5 billion more than the same period in 2023.
With their assault on Iran, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have needlessly plunged the world into its worst energy crisis since the end of World War II. The consequences will be more severe than the oil shocks of the 1970s and the 2022 gas crisis combined, warns Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency.
That it is oil corporations now profiting from this crisis lays bare the absurdity of fossil capitalism. The same rule that applied to the banking crisis holds true for imperialist wars in the Middle East: costs are socialized, while profits are privatized.
Let's Claw Back the Windfall Profits
This pattern is nothing new. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, millions of households saw their heating bills soar, while oil, gas, coal, and refining companies pocketed billions in extra profits. Eventually, policymakers reclaimed some of that moneyâGermany's so-called windfall tax brought in around âŹ2.5 billion.
Calls for a new windfall tax or the breakup of Big Oil's oligopoly are long overdue. But we should also look ahead. While Germany's gas lobbyâaligned minister, Katherina Reiche, still shapes the country's economic policies, others are already breaking free from the grip of oil multinationals and fossil autocrats.
One figureâfar less headline-grabbing than BP's doubled profitsâtells the real story: China's solar panel exports. For years, they've been climbing steadily. But in March, the curve shot nearly vertical. Exports had doubled compared to February.
In South Korea, the president has called his country's reliance on fossil fuels a "dangerous vulnerability." His response? Boosting grid infrastructure and launching a "solar income" program for villages, offering low-interest loans to set up collectively owned solar installations. Residents can generate power for their own needsâand sell the surplus. It's a model German energy cooperatives would recognize.
Rearming with Christian Lindner
Even in Germany, a late-March poll found that nearly 80 percent feel threatened by dependence on fossil fuel imports. Against that backdrop, the government's plan to phase out subsidies for small solar installations next year is nothing short of absurd.
Faced with this mess, one almost longs for Christian Lindner's return. Just after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022, of all people, it was Lindner who declared: "Renewable energy frees us from dependencies. Renewable energy is freedom energy. We are betting on freedom energy."
To defend Germany's and Europe's freedom, the government plans to more than double the defense budget to âŹ150 billion by 2029. Yet churning out tanks, fighter jets, and missiles only deepens our reliance on oil giants and fossil autocrats.
Those who want true freedom from them should take a page from Lindner's bookâand invest billions in batteries, power grids, and solar panels.
