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At the beginning of 2000s, as concerns about climate change grew, some of the biggest oil companies began to modify their climate change public relations strategies.

The wealthiest countries need to have phased out their production by 2034 at the latest, or by 2031 for a higher chance to stay below 1.5°C of warming. The report is also clear that immediate action is needed: their production must go down by 74% by 2030.

On the back of spiralling gas prices, the oil giant Shell today announced it had quadrupled its profits to over £14.2bn in 2021. Ben van Beurden, Shell’s chief executive, who received a pay package of more than €6 million last year, said 2021 had been a “momentous year” for the business.

The unthinkable could soon be thinkable.

The world is on track to produce about 120 per cent more fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees, and 50 per cent more than would be consistent with limiting warming to 2 degrees.

A remarkable thing just happened in Canada’s oil patch. Tar sands producers have actually started to cut oil production in the face of growing pipeline constraints.

Argentina is on the brink of an oil and gas production explosion, with its top shale plays forecasted to vastly increase oil and gas production in the country through mid-century. The annual summit for the Group of 20 countries, which will be held in Buenos Aires at the end of November next year, seems set to serve as a boost for this development.

Yesterday, after a failure in new contract negotiations initiated this month by a group of major oil companies, the United Steelworkers announced a work stoppage at nine refineries, the largest refinery strike in nearly 35 years.

The story of the Detroit petcoke pile should give the Obama administration some serious pause as they consider the Keystone XL decision.