How do we define climate responsibility? Woodside has no answer | Adam Morton

So long as oil and gas companies remain wedded to self-interest, the push against them isn’t going away

• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

Australia’s southwest is suffering through a historic dry stretch. Perth had the lowest rainfall on record in the six months to March, and trees in eucalyptus forests and scrubland across a 1,000 kilometre stretch of the state are dying in shocking and spectacular fashion, with spillover effects through the ecosystems that rely on them.

The climate signal – the impact of rising atmospheric greenhouse gases, largely due to the burning of fossil fuels – in this part of the world has been clear for a while. Winter rainfall has fallen up to 20% since the 1970s in what scientists have for years described as one of the earliest examples of the climate crisis having a measurable influence.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup