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They say that politicians often operate in a bubble, removed from the rest of us. They have a blinkered view of reality, distorted by privilege and power.

As I write, the UK has just experienced its hottest ever night. It has literally also just smashed the record for the hottest day ever.

Hundres of thousands of Americans, concerned about climate change and increasingly shocked at how much they are paying at the pump for their gas, are voting with their feet and ditching their gas-guzzling vehicles and going electric.

Many parts of the world are experiencing record extreme heat right now. And now it’s the UK’s turn. Earlier today, the country’s official weather forecasters, the Met Office extended an "amber extreme" heat warning, as temperatures look set to rocket later this week and early next week too.

A new academic paper outlines why gas is not a so-called bridge fuel to a zero emission future. The scientists conclude that “a fossil fuel with a high climate impact, often hidden under a misleading narrative, which hinders decarbonization via infrastructure expansion, and so creates carbon lock-in effects and bears high economic risk, cannot be a solution towards a zero-emission future.”

“Do not assume you will be safe tonight” warned the Australian authorities yesterday to thousands of residents of the country’s largest city, Sydney, which is yet again experiencing catastrophic flooding.

With hundreds of millions of people across the word suffering from the fallout of higher energy prices and a cost of living crisis caused by Russia’s deadly war on Ukraine, this week’s G7 summit was the perfect opportunity for the world’s most powerful politicians to show clear compelling leadership.

The Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, says we “seem trapped in a world where fossil fuel producers and financiers have humanity by the throat". And Big Oil’s deadly stranglehold is having devastating consequences, from floods to heatwaves, as extreme weather grips many parts of the world.

We are now one hundred and ten days since the start of Vladimir Putin’s bloody brutal war on Ukraine. Since the invasion the global energy market has been largely turned on its head, as old certainties of supply have been ripped up.

If completed, EACOP will pose significant risks to millions of people; jeopardize vital, internationally recognized ecosystems; and, at peak production, generate annual carbon emissions roughly equivalent to the carbon footprint of nine coal-fired power plants.