--- title: "‘Our lives are turning to ash’: Oil majors must pay damage for worst wildfire crisis in years" date: 2026-07-27T11:15:20Z modified: 2026-07-27T14:05:09Z permalink: "https://350.org/press-release/more-than-300000-evacuated-as-wildfires-tear-through-spain-and-france-while-oil-majors-post-bumper-profits/" type: press-release status: publish excerpt: "" wpid: 175531567 author: kimbryan --- The wildfire crisis exposes the true cost of fossil fuel phaseout delay, and oil majors posting bumper profits must pay for the damage, said [350.org](http://350.org) in solidarity with more than 300,000 people forced from their homes in wildfires raging across France and Spain. In Spain, fires have burned nearly 10,000 hectares in the Madrid region alone and around 15,000 hectares in neighbouring Ávila province, prompting Spain to declare a national emergency . Wildfires in Spain and Portugal combined have more than doubled compared with last year, and the head of the Madrid regional government has called the current fires the worst the area has ever seen. In France, around 63,000 people have evacuated southern regions as multiple fires burn simultaneously, destroying approximately 80 homes so far. France has appealed to the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism for international firefighting support. This is not a single bad summer. According to [WHO Europe, wildfires destroyed 2.2 million hectares of land across the region in 2025 alone](https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/07/1168013), up from 1.4 million hectares in 2022 , a trajectory that tracks rising global temperatures. The extreme heat of the past few months has parched the land and stripped moisture from vegetation, creating tinder-dry conditions that allow fires to ignite easily and spread rapidly out of control. As President Macron convenes an emergency meeting and it becomes increasingly clear that fires of this scale are being fueled by global warming — driven largely by the burning of fossil fuels — 350.org is calling on European governments to make fossil fuel companies pay for the damage they are profiting from and contributing to. Permanent higher taxes on fossil fuels and a climate damages tax on oil and gas profits should be imposed to fund emergency response, recovery and long-term resilience for communities on the frontline of the crisis. > **Soraya Fettih, global campaigner at 350.org who lives near Bordeaux** > > “On Saturday morning I was evacuated from my home. The fire is reaching the suburbs of Bordeaux. The sky is black, and the air is filled with ash. In the city, thousands of people were forced to flee the suburbs and the coast. This isn’t something we’re watching on the news. We’re living it. > > As my community breathes smoke and watches our forests burn, TotalEnergies has just announced $11.2 billion in profit in six months, a 72% increase in net income, boosted by higher oil prices during the war in Iran. > > My people are paying the price. We are losing our homes, our memories and our communities. Our lives and our future are turning to ash. At the same time, our region is being left to shoulder the enormous cost of fighting these fires and helping people rebuild, while governments continue to subsidise the fossil fuel companies driving this crisis. Communities are paying several times: through climate disasters, through public money that continues to support the companies profiting from them, through bills that keep going up.” The wildfires come as Europe’s oil and gas majors continue to report soaring profits. TotalEnergies reported adjusted net income of $6.03 billion for the second quarter of 2026, up 68% on the same period last year, driven largely by stronger refining margins. This week, three other oil majors are expected to announce their profits – Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron. These are also likely to be record ones. ![](https://350.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IMG_8592-525x700.jpg) Smoke and ash from wildfires engulfs towns near Bordeaux **Notes to Editors** - More than[ 300,000 people have been evacuated ](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/26/world/live-news/france-spain-wildfires-evacuations#:~:text=Mass%20evacuations%3A%20More%20than%20300%2C000,ups%20in%20the%20Madrid%20region.)across Spain and France combined as of 26 July 2026 - Spain: [national emergency declared;](https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/spain-declares-national-emergency-over-wildfires-near-madrid-avila-2026-07-24/) approx. 10,000 hectares burned in the Madrid region, 13,000–15,000 hectares in Ávila province - France: approx. [63,000 evacuated, approx. 80 homes destroyed ](https://www.facebook.com/scmp/posts/a-total-of-80-homes-have-burnt-around-50-of-which-have-been-completely-destroyed/1439159698260078/) - Land burned by wildfire across the [WHO European Region rose 57% in four years](https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/07/1168013): 1.4 million hectares (2022) to 2.2 million hectares - [TotalEnergies](https://totalenergies.com/system/files/documents/totalenergies_pr-results-2q26_2026_en.pdf) Q2 2026 adjusted net income: $6.03bn, up 68% year-on-year **About 350.org** 350.org is a global grassroots climate movement working in nearly every country to end the fossil fuel era and build a just, renewable-energy future for all. **Media Contact** / +44 7770881503