“Petrostate” is a term usually applied to countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, or Nigeria, where the production and, crucially, the export of oil and gas are fundamental to the domestic economy and foreign policy. Rarely, however, is the term applied to the world’s oldest, richest, and mightiest petro-state. That distinction belongs to the United States, which a few days ago attacked a fellow petro-state, Venezuela, with the announced aim of seizing control of its oil operations. Oil is clearly at the heart of the Venezuela story, which means that climate change is as well.