The Greed of Big Oil and Its Grip on the Future
Oil is the lifeblood of modern civilisation, but it’s also a slick, slippery, and highly combustible problem. Metaphorically and literally.
The oil industry has mastered the art of staying on top: controlling prices, regulating supply, and keeping the wheels of dependency spinning smoothly. With their clever manipulation of geopolitics and markets, Big Oil has proved itself as slippery as the product it pumps.
And yet, oil is a finite resource, a pollutant, and at best, a stopgap in a world that desperately needs to embrace greener technologies. In an age when innovation in energy is flourishing, the oil industry should be winding down. Instead, it’s doubling down on profits and influence, leaving both the environment and future generations to bear the cost.
How does this slick machine continue to thrive while the planet and its people are begging for change?
Let’s take a wee look at how Big Oil maintains its grip on power, the price manipulations and supply games it plays, and the green technologies waiting in the wings. We’ll also look at the myths and realities of alternatives like electric cars, the legal apparatus protecting fossil fuels, and the stark contrast between the industry’s vast wealth and the activists fighting for a sustainable future.
Because it’s past time to look past the shine and get a clear view of the oil-stained reality.
JUST STOP OIL
If the fossil fuel industry were to stop everything tomorrow, the global shipping sector would be impacted immediately: about 40% of the 11 billion tons of cargo moved annually consists of fossil fuels – over 3 billion tons of oil and oil products, and more than 1 billion tons of coal.
The outcome? A further substantial decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, reducing the major contribution the the shipping industry makes to global carbon output.
Additionally, halting fossil fuel extraction and transportation would reduce air and water pollution, leading to improved public health outcomes.
This reduction in shipping traffic would also decrease noise pollution in marine environments, benefiting marine life and ecosystems.
And these instant positive impacts underscore the profound environmental and health benefits of transitioning away from fossil fuel dependence.
Ireland’s reliance on oil is embedded in the fabric of everyday life, from how we heat our homes to how we move around the country. Even though we never were and never will be an oil producing country. We import over 90% of our energy, relying on millions of tonnes of oil annually to power transportation, industry, and heating.
37% of the population lives in rural Ireland where limited public transport means many rely on private cars. there are more than 2 million vehicles on the road nationally.
Poor public transport infrastructure means that owning a car is a necessity rather than a luxury.
Plus, around 40% of Irish homes still depend on heating oil, a figure far higher than most of Europe. This heavy reliance on oil not only contributes to Ireland’s high per capita carbon emissions but also makes the country particularly vulnerable to the global oil market.
Meanwhile, Big Oil continues to profit from the dependency, raking in billions at the expense of both our wallets and the environment.
As Ireland faces the challenge of reducing its carbon footprint, it’s clear that breaking free from fossil fuels will require more than individual change. It will take a systemic overhaul of our energy and transport systems.
So as we stand on the edge of this environmental crisis, the biggest barrier to meaningful change remains the immense power of the oil industry.
Despite the growing awareness of climate change and the urgent need to shift to greener technologies, Big Oil continues to rake in astronomical profits from the sale of fossil fuels, a product that is literally choking the planet.
In a world where the future of the earth is at stake, it’s shocking to see how deeply entrenched corporate greed is, and how the law often acts to protect these interests rather than the environment or its defenders.
The Law’s Double Standards: Protecting Oil, Persecuting Activists
As if stifling green innovation weren’t enough, Big Oil’s influence extends into the judicial system, where fossil fuel companies are shielded by laws that punish those who dare to stand up to them. In recent years, we’ve seen a rise in the criminalisation of environmental activism, with anti-oil protesters being handed harsh prison sentences for peaceful demonstrations.
Look at the Extinction Rebellion activists who have been handed jail sentences for what are fundamentally non-violent protests, all while fossil fuel corporations continue business as usual, protected by legal systems that prioritise corporate profits over planetary health.
In contrast, members of the political and media elite are often shielded from serious consequences for far graver crimes. A disturbing pattern has emerged in the UK, where individuals accused of heinous crimes such as child abuse and paedophilia have avoided justice, shielded by their status and connections within the establishment.
It’s a stark double standard that reveals a judicial system more concerned with protecting the interests of the powerful than delivering justice or safeguarding the environment.
A Timeline of UK Petrol Prices: From £1 per Gallon to Now
In the UK, petrol prices have been a flashpoint for decades. Petrol prices have steadily risen over time, revealing patterns of price manipulation and the influence of global oil markets on everyday consumers, and reflecting the broader economic control wielded by the fossil fuel industry.
- 1983: The average price of petrol in the UK surpassed £1 per gallon for the first time, causing shockwaves among consumers.
- 2025: Today, the price hovers around £1.40 to £1.60 per litre, which translates to nearly £7 per gallon.
The sharp rise is driven by a mixture of factors including fluctuating crude oil prices, inflation, and taxes. However, even as prices skyrocket, oil companies continue to post record profits.
BP reported a $27.7 billion profit in 2022, while Shell posted $42.3 billion, despite the global ‘cost-of-living crisis’.
The discrepancy between falling oil production costs and the soaring prices at the pump underscores a disturbing reality: oil giants aren’t just keeping prices high because of market forces, but to protect their profit margins.
The Greed Stalling Green Innovation
This relentless drive for profit is holding back the development of green technologies. While public pressure has forced some movement towards renewable energy, the pace is agonisingly slow.
Big Oil companies are investing in renewable energy projects, but often in token amounts, all while lobbying behind the scenes to delay government action on climate change. By focusing their immense resources on extracting every last drop of profit from fossil fuels, they are suffocating the advancement of green technologies that could help transition us to a cleaner future.
5 Green Technologies Ready for Commercial Use:
- Solar Power: Photovoltaic cells have reached a point where they are not only energy-efficient but affordable for homes and businesses. Solar farms are also a highly scalable solution for generating large amounts of clean electricity.
- Wind Power: Onshore and offshore wind farms are already a major source of renewable energy in the UK, with further advancements in turbine efficiency making it one of the most cost-effective green technologies.
- Heat Pumps: Heat pump systems, which transfer heat from the ground or air into buildings, are an increasingly viable alternative to gas-powered heating systems, reducing carbon footprints in homes and businesses.
- Green Hydrogen: Hydrogen produced using renewable energy is an emerging fuel source for industries that are difficult to electrify, like heavy transport and aviation.
- Electric Buses: While electric cars are often in the spotlight, electric buses are already commercially viable and have the potential to drastically reduce urban emissions.
The Truth About Electric Cars
While electric cars are often touted as the solution to our climate woes, they aren’t the silver bullet many believe them to be. Electric vehicles (EVs) do produce fewer emissions over their lifetime compared to traditional petrol and diesel cars, but they are not without their environmental drawbacks.
- Battery Production: The production of lithium-ion batteries, which power most electric cars, is energy-intensive and relies heavily on mining precious metals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. This process leaves a significant environmental footprint, often resulting in deforestation, soil contamination, and water shortages in mining areas.
- Energy Source: The environmental benefit of EVs depends on the source of electricity. If the energy grid is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, the carbon savings from driving an EV are much lower than advertised.
- Battery Disposal: When electric car batteries reach the end of their life, recycling them is complex and expensive. Without proper disposal methods, old batteries can contribute to hazardous waste.
- Infrastructure: Building out the infrastructure to support widespread EV use, including charging stations and upgraded energy grids, requires vast amounts of energy and resources, further adding to the environmental cost.
While electric cars are certainly part of the solution, they cannot be the only one.
Climate-Smart Transportation: Good for Cities and People
The battle against Big Oil is not just a fight for green technology or even environmental protection – it is a struggle for justice, for the future of our planet, and for the principles of equality.
As long as fossil fuel giants continue to hold sway over our governments, our laws, and our economy, the transition to a sustainable, green future will be delayed. But with commercial green technologies ready for deployment and growing public awareness, there is hope that the tide is turning.
Ultimately, the challenge is not just to innovate technologically, but to break the stranglehold of fossil fuel interests on our political and legal systems. Only then can we move forward – In Ireland, In Real Life, and across the globe – to a future where the home, society and the planet thrive together.
Domesticky 
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