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.
The hydrocarbon resources of the Eastern Mediterranean region have greatly increased in importance in recent years. The new natural gas discoveries can have a significant impact on the politics of global energy security.
After a year of escalating violence, Libya's rival authorities have announced an immediate ceasefire on August 21. The long-awaited truce calls for elections in March 2021 and for talks to demilitarize Sirte, which could avert Turkish-Egyptian clash over the strategic city.
The coronavirus has created a global, political, societal, economic and commercial crisis. The crisis not only can be seen as a disruptive period of uncertainty and danger, but also can be seen as a defining moment for the world order and the alliances that have been shaping that order for a long time.
As the world struggles to contain consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, an escalating trade war rhetoric between the US and China seems to add insult to injury for the global economy.
The new escalation began with a trade of accusations between US President Donald Trump and China over the coronavirus where the US president said he was very disappointed with China’s failure to contain COVID-19, explaining that the pandemic had cast a pall over his January trade deal with Beijing and that he had no interest in speaking to President Xi Jinping at the moment.
The new coronavirus pandemic has spawned a serious public health crisis, devastated economies and changed social norms around the world. However, the danger of evolving it into a weapon that can be wielded in political conflicts may be the last thing the world needs today.
