– The West’s energy giants are set to return a record $30 billion to investors after reporting bumper profits in the second quarter of the year following a surge in energy prices. But the top five Western oil and gas companies have shied away from investing more of their combined record profits of nearly $60 billion in new products as they weigh the impact of the recession and climate change on future fossil fuel demand. The reluctance to spend may exacerbate an energy supply crunch that has driven inflation to multi-decade highs and ignited calls from consumers and opposition leaders for […]