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As we transition out of the pandemic we need to transition out of fossil fuels too. We have the science. We have the knowledge. We have the expertise. And now we have to change.

There is no doubt we are at a historical moment with the industry in deep structural and financial trouble and where a post-COVID-19 recovery could see a radical shift away from oil and into a just transition into renewables. But will that happen?

“Shell’s concern, deeper than its fossil-fuel identity and more urgent than the climate crisis, is Shell. I don’t believe it’s going to lead us to the Paris climate goals, and Shell probably doesn’t believe it will either.”

The Norwegian company, Equinor, has announced it was abandoning plans to drill for oil in the highly ecologically sensitive, Great Australian Bight, which has been a battleground between conservationists and the industry for years.

According to the Financial Times "Around $900bn – or one-third of the current value of big oil and gas companies – would evaporate if governments more aggressively attempted to restrict the rise in temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels for the rest of this century.”

On the frontlines, the certainty of before has given way to the uncertainty of the future. But the fossil fuel machine continues to churn and burn.

Sixty years ago, Rachel Carson sparked our modern environmental movement. But sixty years of denial has pushed us to the brink of climate catastrophe.

The old saying goes, when in a hole, stop digging. So when your country is on fire, put out the fire and take action to stop further fires in the future.

This is climate madness. This is nonsensical. As Australia burns, it carries on drilling, fracking and mining.