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In 2017, Esther Kiobel and three other widows of the Ogoni 9, brought a new legal case against Shell in the Netherlands for complicity in murdering their husbands. And today was judgement day in the Hague. A day for hope. A day of dreams. However, those dreams were to be shattered. But this is not the end of the fight.

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.

A key British Russian lobbying group, the board of which included executives from BP, and whose hierarchy included British Royalty, British and Russian Ambassadors and ex-British parliamentarians, has quietly erased online content about its activities and personnel over the last few weeks.

The solution to both the US and UK decisions to stop importing Russian oil and gas is not to drill for more oil, either in the US or UK - something the fossil fuel industry and its supporters are already arguing. It is to invest in renewables and alternatives such as heat pumps and weatherization.

For decades Big Oil courted Putin and helped him exploit Russia’s vast reserves. Big Oil poured billions into Russia’s war chest with devastating consequences.

Two prominent African environmentalists are pushing back against those advocating for more fossil fuel drilling on the continent. They argue that “far from generating prosperity and stability in sub-Saharan Africa, investments in fossil fuels cause real harm,” noting “Decades of fossil fuel development have failed to deliver energy to much of the continent" and "have deepened inequality, caused environmental damage, stoked corruption, and encouraged political repression.”

Increased recognition from governments, institutions, and even parts of the financial sector of the role of fossil fuels in climate change represents a sea change from where we were even just a few years ago. The importance of phasing out oil and gas are now featured in climate policy discussions across all sectors.

As I write the dire threat of war once again hangs over Europe after the Russian President, Vladimir Putin,  recognised the self-proclaimed republics in Luhansk and Donetsk in Eastern Ukraine and ordered his troops over the border.

There are always those who will want to profit from war or the threat of war, as unscrupulous as it may seem. And for the American oil and gas industry there is no exception.

Embedded into the story of the struggle against Big Oil in Ecuador is the American lawyer: Steven Donziger. His story adds another layer of torrid injustice in the fight to hold Big Oil accountable. His story needs to be told.