The OPEC this month was on the verge of a new crisis similar to the one that jeopardized oil markets a year ago when a disagreement between Russia and Saudi Arabia over proposed oil-production cuts amid the COVID-19 pandemic led to a war of prices where oil value fell more than 60%.
Throughout human history, energy transitions have always represented turning points that led to deep geopolitical consequences. The shift from wood to coal for example was the locomotive for capitalism and the imperial ambitions of colonial powers in18th century.
The European Union (EU) is poised to unveil a range of new policy measures that are expected to help the bloc reach its ambitious emissions 2030 targets. The new measures will include new targets for renewable energy, changes to tax rules to ensure that electricity does not face higher charges than oil and gas, and a new carbon border adjustment mechanism, or what is known as a new carbon border tax.
The US and China, two of the most economically powerful countries in the world, have been going head to head over the years. Under the Trump administration, the US-China ties have been greatly impaired on many fronts, however, now under the recently-elected US President Joe Biden's administration, both sides came back to the table for discussions on the climate issue, which raises the questions if a joint climate action can bring back the relations to normal or rather deepen the tension and further complicate the climate crisis.
International benchmark Brent crude futures jumped above $70 for the first time in nearly two years after Saudi oil facilities were targeted by missiles and drones on March 8. The attack was one of the recently renewed attacks by Yemen's rebel Houthi movement that used to launch missile attacks on Saudi Arabia infrastructure and territory, including oil tankers and facilities and international airports, in response to Saudi intervention to restore Yemen’s internationally-recognized government.
The attack on fossil fuel by the John Biden administration is going faster and further than expectations.
The new Democrat president did not only honor his promise to rejoin the Paris climate pact, but he also committed to aggressive carbon cut, suspended new oil and gas leases on public lands, seeking to end fossil-fuel subsidies and even directing federal agencies to purchase electric cars.
Just hours after his inauguration ceremony, the new US President issued a series of executive orders reversing hallmark policies of the Trump administration.
One of these policies that has been in the line of fire since day 1, is Trump’s oil legacy. Within hours of becoming president, Joe Biden signed an executive order to return to the global Paris Agreement on tackling climate change. It is the agreement that was abandoned by the Trump administration, which had largely been a champion of the oil industry and wanted to advance oil projects to achieve US energy independence.
With the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 brought challenges that no one was prepared for, changing the way we live, dominating political scenes, and sending shock waves across the world markets.
The historic deep-rooted relations between Egypt and Iraq have gained new momentum with the convening of the Egyptian-Iraqi Higher Committee in Baghdad last month. During the meeting, which was chaired by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, the two countries have reportedly reached a preliminary consensus to establish an oil-for-reconstruction mechanism.
One of the most complicated decades-long world conflicts was revived when fights erupted again between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the mountainous enclave late in September. Hopes of ending the bloodshed in Nagorno-Karabakh looked slim last month as several brokered ceasefires failed to halt the worst fighting in the South Caucasus since the 1990s. The new wave of fighting is not only threatening to spiral into regional war, but also threatening an important energy corridor.
