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In the UK, despite hundreds of millions being spent and no commercial projects in operation, a further £25 billion has been promised in new subsidies for Carbon, Capture and Storage (CCS) and Hydrogen. This is greater than the supposed £22 billion black hole that the previous Conservative Government left the new Labour government. If Labour is looking for a quick fix to find money to fund the winter fuel allowance, they should scrap these wasteful handouts to the fossil fuel industry.

The UK House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee have launched a inquiry into Accelerating the transition from fossil fuels and securing energy supplies, which is scrutinising the UK Government’s Energy Security Strategy and its North Sea Transition Deal (for oil and gas production in the UK’s Continental Shelf). Oil Change International submitted the following evidence for the committee.

Five decades on from the first CCS project, the technology remains riddled with problems, unproven at scale, and not fit for purpose. It is beyond time to focus on the real solutions to the climate crisis and injustice that the fossil fuel industry has wrought. Neither CO2-rich gas or LNG qualify.

With only six months left till COP26, the UK host has work to do. Ending public finance for fossil fuel projects overseas shows potential, but the UK’s lack of action on fossil fuels domestically risks undermining its credibility.

Rich countries at this week’s Climate Summit need to take decisive action to stop the expansion of oil and gas production, both at home and abroad, both to protect the global climate and local communities. True climate leadership means breaking away from destructive oil and gas and investing in real solutions and green jobs that will help people and the planet thrive.

And so as President Biden sets to work on his programme for his first 100 days, there is increasing hope for significant on climate change rising from the toxic legacy of the Trump Administration.

More and more companies do not want to go back. They want a just transition moving forward. We have to make sure now that politicians meet rising corporate and political pressure. There can be no Big polluter bailout. Any post-COVID-19 economic recovery plan has to make central a managed transition away from fossil fuels to a cleaner, more sustainable, more just, future.

A letter from leading businesses, scientists and activists demands “bold, not incremental, action" is required from the International Energy Agency on climate change. Hopefully, Dr. Birol and the IEA are listening. For all our futures may depend on their report next month.

With the health and livelihoods of billions at risk from COVID-19, governments around the world are preparing historic levels of stimulus finance. Building a Just Recovery that avoids the worst of climate change means overhauling our public finance institutions fast.

This week the seemingly impossible happened: U.S. oil futures prices went negative for the first time in history. What happens next is up to us.