The discovery of billions of barrels of oil off the coast of Rio de Janeiro was billed as one of the biggest finds of this century. But with the country’s biggest energy company, Petrobras, mired in debt and scandal, the low price of oil and dangers of a second Deepwater Horizon, the viability of this massive undertaking has never been under more scrutiny

Shell plans to drill for oil just off the north coast of Alaska, pulling the detonator on a ‘carbon bomb’. The city of Barow, the most northerly city in the US, is ground zero for the world’s most controversial oil drilling campaign

Chinese miners dug up 3.87 billion tonnes of coal last year, leaving the country grappling with major environmental problems from crippling air pollution to dried-up riverbeds

This tiny Alberta town is one of the world’s single biggest sources of carbon pollution. The community grew rich on oil, and was wrecked by oil. So local Cece Fitzpatrick decided to run for chief, promising to stand up to the industry that came there 50 years ago

Around 27bn tonnes of coal are thought to be locked under the ground of the Galilee Basin in the outback of Queensland. A huge proposed complex of coal mines is planned here, including the world’s largest thermal coal project. So are railway lines and a massive expansion of the Abbot Point port on the Great Barrier Reef. What will this mean for the Aboriginal community, the Great Barrier Reef and the world’s climate?