There were two pieces of recent news which highlight why what was once most often referred to as global warming is now called climate change. Yes, the globe is heating up. But effects vary depending on where you live for various reasons. First, a report from India calls out problems with the criteria used by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue a heatwave warning: The criteria do NOT consider humidity, only temperature. Anyone who lives in a hot climate or any climate that includes... Читать дальше...
U.S. greenhouse gas emissions rose 1.3% in 2022, reflecting post-COVID economic recovery, but declined 17% since 2005, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Annual US Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHG Inventory), released every April. The EPA’s neutral policy report has been released annually since its inception in 1993, in accordance with the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Total gross U.S. emissions decreased by 3% from 1990 to 2022... Читать дальше...
Global warming is causing temperatures to rise at a faster pace in Central Asia than in other parts of the world. Yet a report issued by a watchdog group shows that Central Asian states are compounding their environmental challenges by doubling down on the use of coal-fired power plants, a primary source of greenhouse gas emissions that fuel warming. The annual report by Global Energy Monitor (GEM), titled Boom and Bust Coal 2024: Tracking the Global Coal Plant Pipeline, showed that coal’s role in... Читать дальше...
Israel convened its war cabinet on Monday morning, vowing a response to what is being described as a direct attack on Israel, despite various reports suggesting that Iran coordinated its missile barrage with Washington and directed missiles at Israel with the knowledge that they would all be shot down. The conclusion of Israel’s three-hour-long war cabinet was to find a solution that inflicts harm on Iran without causing an all-out regional war, according to Israel’s Channel 12 news, suggesting... Читать дальше...
Shares of Tesla Motors are muted in the early premarket trading hours in New York after a report from the EV blog Electrek cited an "internal company-wide email" detailing layoffs at the EV company amounting to more than 10% of its global workforce. Electrek alleges that Elon Musk sent an email to staff explaining a "duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas" as the main reason for the layoffs, which could affect as many as 14,000 employees. Here's the full text of the email (courtesy of Electrek)... Читать дальше...
Iran’s attack on Israel on the night of April 13-14, 2024, showed how well the two countries understand each other and recognize that they are not each other’s main threats. They do have a lingering conflict, but misleading Western media rhetoric that Shi’ite Iran is the primary sponsor of the Sunni/Muslim Brotherhood Hamas movement obscures realities. 1. Primary sponsors of Hamas, which began the war against Israel on October 7, 2023, are Turkey and Qatar, both Muslim Brotherhood states extremely hostile to Israel. Читать дальше...
Leading diplomats and politicians across the globe, fearing another major escalation of fighting in the Middle East, urged restraint as the world waited for Israel's response after it endured an unprecedented air attack by Iran over the weekend. Tehran fired more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel late on April 13, almost all of which were shot down by Israeli defense systems, along with intercepts by forces from the United States, France, Britain, and Jordan. Only a few missiles reached Israeli territory... Читать дальше...
BP has cut over a tenth of its workforce in its EV charging business, BP Pulse, as the supermajor is downsizing the division and retreating from several countries to focus on just four key markets, Reuters reported on Monday, quoting sources at the company. BP has cut more than 100 out of BP Pulse’s 900 jobs, but many of the people have been transferred to other divisions and only a handful have left the supermajor, according to Reuters’ sources. BP Pulse is the…
While major European banks are competing to announce new policies limiting funding to oil and gas projects, smaller regional U.S. banks have boosted significantly their lending to oil and gas firms over the past two years. Regional banks BOK Financial, Citizens Financial, Truist Securities, Fifth Third Securities, and US Bancorp have seen their combined loans to the fossil fuel industry jump by over 70% on an average annualized basis since the beginning of 2022, compared to the previous six years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Читать дальше...
Kazakhstan exceeded its oil production quota under the OPEC+ deal by 131,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March, due to the weather and heating season requirements, the country’s Energy Ministry said on Sunday, pledging that the non-OPEC producer will look to compensate in the coming months for its overproduction. “Kazakhstan will continue to make every effort to comply with its obligations and compensate for the 1st quarter overproduction,” the Kazakh Energy Ministry said in a statement. As agreed... Читать дальше...
The energy industry has so far this year been the second-best performer on the U.S. stock market, right after communications. Oil and gas stocks are up by 17% since January—and investors are still buying. It's business as usual for most, as oil prices climb higher amid Middle East tensions, OPEC cuts, and shrinking global inventories. But it's not only that, not this time. This time, investors are buying oil and gas stocks as a hedge against inflation. Perhaps there's more than one reason oil's called black gold. Читать дальше...
Following the Iranian drone attack against Israel this weekend, the U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on Monday on several bills toughening sanctions on Iran, including one aimed at reducing Chinese imports of Iranian crude oil. The bills that will be voted on in an expedited procedure, Bloomberg notes, include the so-called Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act of 2023, which was unanimously approved by the House Financial Services Committee in November. The bill proposes to “impose restrictions... Читать дальше...
OPEC+ has sufficient spare production capacity to control a price rally, but its approach to increasing output will be crucial.Iran's direct attack on Israel on Saturday evening is viewed certainly as an escalation in the Middle East conflict. Tehran's missile and drone attack (widely unsuccessful) has been well-telegraphed (read: here & here) for the last two weeks, pushing up Brent crude oil futures above the $90 a barrel mark on heightened geopolitical risks in the region. Iran's direct attack... Читать дальше...
China is currently constructing a total of 26 nuclear power units with a combined capacity of 30.3 gigawatts (GW), the highest in the world, according to a report by the China Nuclear Energy Association (CNEA) cited by local media. Last year, China approved the development of five new nuclear power projects and began construction of five units, the report found. Air pollution from coal-fired power plants is a major impetus for China to expand its nuclear generation fleet, according to the World Nuclear Association. Читать дальше...
Traders flocked to the crude oil options market last week, trading record numbers of call options that Brent would hit $100 per barrel in the coming months, data compiled by Bloomberg showed on Monday. As tensions in the Middle East escalated earlier this month, traders moved to the options market, betting on higher oil prices as a hedge against spiking futures prices. The call options give traders the right—but not the obligation—to buy assets at a certain price, the so-called strike price, by a certain date. Читать дальше...
Russia has been exporting newly-made copper rod to China disguised as copper scrap in recent months—a new trade avenue for the two regimes that has been evading Western sanctions on Russian copper and export and import duties in both countries, Reuters reported on Monday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter and its own analysis on customs data. Russian Copper Company (RCC), designated by the U.S. and UK, has been engaged in these types of trades since December 2023, which has allowed exports... Читать дальше...
Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Co. has loaded its biggest nuclear power plant, Kashiwazaki Kariwa, with fuel for the first time since the Fukushima disaster, Bloomberg has reported. The move is part of a nuclear power return on the Japanese scene after the 2011 tragedy, which saw all nuclear reactors in the country turned off. But the restart of the Kashiwasaki Kariwa, which is the biggest nuclear power generator in the world, is not yet guaranteed. The plan has to get the go-ahead from the Niigata... Читать дальше...
Goldman Sachs analysts have brushed off the latest events between Iran and Israel as a bullish factor for oil prices, citing potential hedging by producers. “Our commodities strategists do not expect substantial further upside to oil prices,” the bank said, as quoted by FXStreet, adding that “Hedge funds continued selling US Energy stocks for the 3rd straight week, and the sector has now been net sold in 5 of the last 6 weeks.” One potential reason for this selling streak may be the strong performance... Читать дальше...
Crude oil prices began trade today with a decline following Iran’s retaliatory strike on Israel that the latter said had only done limited damage. "An attack was largely priced in the days leading up to it. Also, the limited damage and the fact that there was no loss of life means that maybe Israel's response will be more measured," ING’s Warren Patterson said, as quoted by Reuters. "But clearly, there is still plenty of uncertainty and it all depends on how Israel now responds," the Dutch bank’s... Читать дальше...
After decades of being treated as the black sheep of the energy universe, nuclear energy is enjoying a renaissance in the U.S. and many Western countries thanks to the global energy crisis. Back in December, at the COP28 summit, 22 countries including the US, Canada, the UK, and France pledged to triple nuclear power capacity by 2050 (from 2020 levels). Last month, 34 nations, including the United States, China, France, Britain, and Saudi Arabia, committed “to work to fully unlock the potential of... Читать дальше...
Continued expansion in China’s coal fleet and a slowdown in plant retirements in the United States and Europe in 2023 resulted in the highest net increase in global operating coal capacity since 2016, research group Global Energy Monitor said in its annual survey. While the slower retirements outside China are expected to be a short-lived blip in a long-term trend, China’s massive annual additions of coal-fired capacity put the world’s second-largest economy “badly off track to meet several climate... Читать дальше...
