Energy Policy, Oil & Gas Archives

Amid Russian War, IEA Closely Watching Oil & Gas Markets

24Feb

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Types of News: Brief

Amid Russian War, IEA Closely Watching Oil & Gas Markets

Photo: IEA February 24, 2022--As Russia intensified its war against Ukraine and G7 countries accelerated sanctions against Russia, the International Energy Agency announced it is closely monitoring the world's supply of oil and gas. Russia is the world's second-largest oil producer. Only the United States produces more oil at this time. According to the IEA, "Russian oil exports transiting Ukraine via the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline to supply Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic" are most likely to be impacted by the conflict. "While the specific impact on world oil markets is yet to be determined, IEA Member Countries stand ready to act collectively to ensure that global oil markets are adequately supplied," the agency said on Tuesday. The United States: 12.1 m...

Biden Aims To Secure U.S.-Based Critical Minerals

24Feb

By Jacob DavenportNo Comments

Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Globalization, Disintegration, Nationalism, Populism, Types of News: Brief

Biden Aims To Secure U.S.-Based Critical Minerals

Feb. 24, 2022--U.S. President Joe Biden met with corporate executives, labor leaders, and California Governor Newsom on Tuesday to announce a commitment to reduce America’s dependency from other nations for critical minerals like lithium and graphite. It is part of Biden's review of U.S. supply chains, which started with an executive order in 2021. The goal, according to the White House statement, is to reduce dependency on China. While moving toward self-sufficiency, the White House is focused on creating sustainable jobs within this industry while benefiting communities. The private sector is taking action. Corporate leaders discussed their plans to extract, collect and recycle critical minerals. Industry Advances Along that line, this Spring, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewable...

Senators Examine Hydrogen As Potential Source Of Clean Energy

15Feb

By Jacob DavenportNo Comments

Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Types of News: Videos

Senators Examine Hydrogen As Potential Source Of Clean Energy

Source: Dept. of Energy February 15, 2022--Sen. Joe Manchin and members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee examined the potential for using hydrogen as a source of clean energy across multiple sectors of the economy, but especially in the transportation sector. "Clean hydrogen is a versatile fuel that has the potential to significantly decarbonize many sectors of our economy, including the power, transportation, and industrial sectors," said Manchin, the committee chairman, on Feb. 10. "We’ve made a lot of progress decarbonizing the power sector but the transportation and industrial sectors are harder, and clean hydrogen could be integral to getting at those parts of our economy." Industries Impacted If developed more, hydrogen could impact the shipping and av...

A Critical Look At Fossil Fuel Subsidies

17Nov

By Guest WriterNo Comments

Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Types of News: Analysis

A Critical Look At Fossil Fuel Subsidies

If We Want To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, We Should Not Pay People To Burn Fossil-Fuels By Max Roser November 17, 2021--Instead of making fossil fuels more expensive, many governments do the opposite: They subsidize them. Having access to reliable and affordable energy is important to people, so it’s understandable that governments support energy access. But if these subsidies support the consumption of fossil fuels it comes with a large downside, air pollution and accelerated climate change. This year, world leaders agreed to reduce fossil fuel subsidies. It is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that they want to reach by 2030. As so often with progress, the world rarely solves a problem through a single event. Repealing subsidies is a process. H...

Institutional Investors Increasingly Cite Climate Change As Portfolio Risk

15Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Types of News: Brief

Institutional Investors Increasingly Cite Climate Change As Portfolio Risk

Insurance Investors Also Say Low Interest-Rate Regime Drives Them Into Riskier Assets November 15, 2021--More than one in three insurers now consider environmental changes as "a serious threat" to their investment strategies, according to an annual survey by BlackRock, the largest investment firm in the world. BlackRock released the findings of its annual survey today. The asset management firm surveyed 362 insurance company executives located in 26 markets and representing $27 trillion in assets. Changes in institutional investment impact global markets, which affect the overall global economy as well as individual savings. Climate Change Exposure The firm reported that 95 percent of insurers surveyed said they are taking into account the risk of climate change while makin...

India Aims for 2070 Net-Zero, Asks For $1 Trillion

12Nov

By Ramsha ZubairiNo Comments

Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Foreign Aid, International Development, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, UN Security Council, Types of News: Analysis

India Aims for 2070 Net-Zero, Asks For $1 Trillion

COP26 event Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeting UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Editor's Note: One of the outcomes of the COP26 conference in Glasgow, Scotland was a pledge by India to reach "net-zero" within 50 years time. Net-zero means that a country or company would compensate for greenhouse gases it emits, bringing the total to zero. India has long been a holdout of promising net-zero. The announcement by Prime Minister Modi to set a target breathed life into the conference. Moreover, it's significant because India is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, after China and the United States. It is also noteworthy because as the world's sixth-largest economy, a shift to a green economy would impact financing. By Ramsha Zubairi November 12, 2021 — When Indian ...

Citing ESG, BNY Mellon Cuts Ties With Controversial Coal Group

8Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Types of News: Analysis

Citing ESG, BNY Mellon Cuts Ties With Controversial Coal Group

In the Wake Of A COP26-Led Pledge To Transition Away From Coal, Wall Street Takes Notice UPDATE: As of August 11, 2026, a U.S. court dismissed a bribery case against Gautam Adani after the Trump Administration's Justice Department dropped its case against the Indian billionaire and conglomerate chief. Adani had reportedly vowed to put $10 billion in foreign investment into the United States. Meanwhile, the Adani coal project mentioned in this story below moved forward. Private hedge funds picked up where BNY Mellon bank left off. U.S.-based King Street Capital Management and U.K.-based Sona Asset Management financed a 6-year, approximately US$207 million loan for Adani’s coal port operations in Australia in 2025. A year earlier, King Street Capital Management and Farallon Capital Manage...

A Closer Look: Causes & Effects of Global Coal Shortage

4Nov

By Ramsha ZubairiNo Comments

Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Global Economics, Types of News: Analysis

A Closer Look: Causes & Effects of Global Coal Shortage

AP photo of Northwest China Coal Shortages Caused Power Outages in India, China And Tajiskistan By Ramsha Zubairi November 4, 2021—Coal prices surged this Fall, producing electric outages in multiple countries. As the global economy continues to get back on track after the pandemic, coal industries struggle to meet the rising demand for the commodity. Graph by Trading Economics. In recent weeks and months, many communities in India, China and Tajiskistan faced some of the worst power outages that they have in years. In China, the population got by with streetlights and elevators turned off and limited heating of offices. Some factories and schools were also forced shut to manage the electricity crisis. Overall, China underwent what has been its worst power shortage in de...

Biden: To Reach 1.5 Degree Celsius, ‘Marathon’ To Net-Zero Is Needed

2Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Types of News: Videos

Biden: To Reach 1.5 Degree Celsius, ‘Marathon’ To Net-Zero Is Needed

November 2, 2021--U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the COP26 in Scotland. Here is a clip of his speech from yesterday. https://youtu.be/bGPhBabHMA0 "We’re planning for a both short-term sprint to 2030 that will keep 1.5 degrees Celsius in reach and for a marathon that will take us — take us to the finish line and transform the largest economy in the world into a thriving, innovative, equitable, and just clean-energy engine of net-zero — for a net-zero world. That’s why today I’m releasing the U.S. long-term strategy, which presents a vision of achieving the United States’ goal of net-zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050 and reinforces an absolutely critical nature of taking bold action with the — in the decisive decade. We’re also going to try to do our part when it...

‘Climate Change Can Tear Us Apart,’ Italy’s Draghi Says

2Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Types of News: Videos

‘Climate Change Can Tear Us Apart,’ Italy’s Draghi Says

Italian PM Says Costs Add Up To $390 Billion A Year November 2, 2021--Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi talks about the social, security and economic costs of climate change. "Climate change can tear us apart," he said at COP26. According to Draghi, risks of a warming Earth include social tensions, migration flows, terrorism and organize crime, among others. https://youtu.be/104FDAEQMtc