Borrowing a tactic from the United States, New Zealand will adopt a law authored by industry to give legal immunity for tort claims against fossil fuel producers and big emitters.
Royce Kurmelovs
Royce Kurmelovs is an investigative journalist in Australia. In addition to contributing to The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Rolling Stone and several other outlets, he is the author of several books, including Slick, a 2024 book on Australia’s toxic relationship with the fossil fuel industry.
“It’s By Stealth, Isn’t It?” Australian Fossil Fuel Companies’ Multi-Million Dollar Effort to Get Into Schools
Australian oil, gas and coal companies want to get into school to shape what kids learn about their industry and climate change. One group has been trying to map the scale of the problem.
Australian Oil and Gas Company Santos Offered Communities Help in Exchange for Good PR
Campaign groups say the company’s disaster-relief fund for outback communities during 2025 flooding came with strings attached.
U.S. and Japanese Government-Funded Foreign Policy Think Tanks Want Australia to Keep Pumping the Gas
One former staffer raised concerns about Japanese influence on Australian climate and energy policy saying it would not be tolerated if China were responsible.
Australian Court Finds Context Is King in Clearing Oil Company Santos of Greenwashing
Last month Australian courts cleared oil company Santos of greenwashing over claims it produced “clean energy’. Subsequently, fossil fuel companies demanded a “crack down” on green groups.
“Simply Cannot Be Ignored”: How Australia’s fossil fuel industry shaped the climate future by capturing economic models
Heatwaves and bushfires burned across southern Australia this January thanks in part to climate change. An Australian government agency once insisted it might not happen.
New Documents Reveal Japan LNG Industry’s Influence on Australian Politics
A new report from Influence Map shows employees from Japanese companies involved in major Australian gas projects have been regularly meeting with Australian ministers, directly shaping policy.
What Happened the day Bjorn Lomborg Met Jeffrey Epstein
The Danish political scientist and climate crisis denier sought a meeting with Epstein in the hope of securing funding.
As Australia Burns, John Vaillant on the Climate-Fire Nexus
What the story of a Canadian oil town engulfed in flames tells us about the world we’re living in and how to change it.
“We Don’t Deserve This”: Survivors of Super Typhoon Odette File Claims Against Shell
Last week the survivors of Super Typhoon Odette that struck the Philippines in 2021 filed what may be the most ambitious climate lawsuit to date against global oil giant Shell.
