The numbers are startling. We know roughly how much more carbon dioxide we can put into the atmosphere before we exceed our climate goals—limiting warming to 1.5° to 2° C above preindustrial temperatures. From that, we can figure out how much more fossil fuel we can burn before we emit that much carbon dioxide. But when you compare those numbers with our known fossil fuel reserves, things get jaw-dropping.

In 1977, an internal memo at Exxon, the United States oil giant, made clear that carbon emissions from its product were causing climate change. But not only that – time was running out to act. “CO2 release most likely source of inadvertent climate modification,” said the shorthand document. “5-10 yr time window to get necessary information.”

The American Petroleum Institute bought Facebook ads urging residents of Sen. Joe Manchin’s state to “thank” him for being a “champion” of U.S. energy. Last August, during the hottest summer in U.S. history, the Senate began debating the country’s most ambitious plan ever to fight the climate crisis: President Biden’s sweeping Build Back Better bill.

Despite President Joe Biden’s ambitious climate pledge, the U.S. will pump more oil out of the ground next year than ever before.

In May, the International Energy Agency laid out an ultimatum to policy makers: for the world to have a 50/50 chance at reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, no new fossil fuel developments can be approved, starting immediately.

Royal Dutch Shell will move ahead with seismic tests to explore for oil in vital whale breeding grounds along South Africa’s eastern coastline after a court dismissed an 11th-hour legal challenge by environmental groups. The judgment, by a South African high court, allows Shell to begin firing within days extremely loud sound waves through the relatively untouched marine environment of the Wild Coast, which is home to whales, dolphins and seals.

Leaders of the U.S. oil industry refused to concede that their companies had ever misled the public about the link between burning fossil fuels and global warming during a tense House hearing on Thursday.

Four years ago, I traveled around America, visiting historical archives. I was looking for documents that might reveal the hidden history of climate change – and in particular, when the major coal, oil and gas companies became aware of the problem, and what they knew about it. I pored over boxes of papers, thousands of pages. I began to recognize typewriter fonts from the 1960s and ‘70s and marveled at the legibility of past penmanship, and got used to squinting when it wasn’t so clear.

Top U.S. oil firms are doubling down on drilling, deepening a divide with European rivals on the outlook for renewables, and winning support from big investors who do not expect the stateside companies to invest in wind and solar.

Shale oil and gas producer APA Corp (APA.O) on Monday said it has ended routine gas flaring at its U.S. onshore operations, delivering ahead of schedule on a pledge to halt the practice as natural gas prices soar.

New polling has revealed that nearly two-thirds of voters would support legislation to take $500bn from fossil fuel corporations to pay damages for their role in causing the climate crisis – currently playing out in deadly wildfires, heatwaves, and more frequent and intense storms.

Approvals for companies to drill for oil and gas on U.S. public lands are on pace this year to reach their highest level since George W. Bush was president, underscoring President Joe Biden's reluctance to more forcefully curb petroleum production in the face of industry and Republican resistance.

Oil and gas companies are working hard on their messaging in the climate change era. If it’s “code red for humanity” as the UN’s IPCC said last Monday in its latest dire climate report, it’s some sort of “code red” for the fossil fuels industry too, in terms of figuring out how to stay relevant, believable — and for the market, investable — in an era of carbon emissions reduction mandates from governments, regulators and shareholders.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after the White House called on OPEC and its allies to increase oil production to support the global recovery from the pandemic. Futures for West Texas Intermediate crude traded 0.85% lower at $67.73 per barrel. Earlier in the session the contract traded as low as $66.67 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.82% to $70.05.

Online advertisers are always trying to sell you something, and in the case of slip-on sneakers or leather handbags, that something is pretty clear. But other times, the motive behind a sponsored post is less transparent. Why, for instance, are oil companies buying prime space in your social media feed to prattle on about “innovative” climate solutions and visions of a “lower-carbon future”?

Oil producing nations have agreed to increase their output, with the aim of reducing prices and easing pressure on the world economy. The Opec cartel and partners such as Russia will boost supply from August after prices climbed to two-and-half-year highs during the pandemic.

BP has reported its biggest quarterly profit since the Covid pandemic began, and will hand investors a $500m (£360m) cash windfall, as the global oil markets recover from the crisis. The oil company reported a profit of $3.3bn for the first quarter, up sharply from a loss of $628m in the same period last year when oil prices began to slide in line with China’s economic slowdown.

The industry group representing oil and gas companies including Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp said on Thursday it supports a carbon price as one measure to mitigate climate change risk.

The world’s biggest 60 banks have provided $3.8tn of financing for fossil fuel companies since the Paris climate deal in 2015, according to a report by a coalition of NGOs. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic cutting energy use, overall funding remains on an upward trend and the finance provided in 2020 was higher than in 2016 or 2017, a fact the report’s authors and others described as “shocking”.

Saudi Aramco had a rough 2020, just like every other oil company. But Aramco isn't any ordinary oil company -- it's the world's biggest, and the pandemic's toll on its business had a decidedly adverse effect on the Saudi-owned business.