Petroleum

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The World Weather Attribution site, run by professional European climate scientists, estimated that “An event as extreme as the one observed over Libya has become up to 50 times more likely and up to 50% more intense compared to a 1.2C cooler climate.” They mean that in the eighteenth century, […]

Climate Crisis

Electric Vehicle Demand surge through 2030, So Why is the Oil Industry Doubling down on Production?

The Conversation

By Robert Brecha, University of Dayton | – Electric vehicle sales are growing faster than expected around the world, and, sales of gas- and diesel-powered vehicles have been falling. Yet, the U.S. government still forecasts an increasing demand for oil, and the oil industry is doubling down on production plans. (The Conversation) – Why is […]

Climate Crisis

Big Oil and Big Coal countries Block meaningful G20 Climate Pledge, in wake of World’s Hottest Summer on Record

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Shivam Patel at Reuters reports that the G20 summit in New Delhi made no specific, agreed-upon statement on climate and energy goals. The 20 richest countries in the world agreed to triple renewable energy by 2030 and to cut way back on coal, but did not set out specifics. They […]

Climate Crisis

Evidence that Gas and Oil are Bad for Our and the Planet’s Health is Piling Up, but Governments turn a Blind Eye

The Conversation

By Melissa Haswell, University of Sydney; David Shearman, University of Adelaide; Jacob Hegedus, University of Sydney; and Lisa Jackson Pulver, University of Sydney | – (The Conversation) – We are seeing deadly heat and fires circle the world. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns we are fast running out of time to secure a […]

Climate Crisis

Drilling our way to Climate Doom: The US leads the World in Oil and Gas Production

Foreign Policy in Focus

By Edward Hunt | ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – The United States is producing record amounts of oil and natural gas, despite the fact that the ongoing use of these fossil fuels poses an existential threat to the planet. Even today, as the planet faces catastrophic warming, leaders in both the Democratic and […]

Climate Crisis

After Maui: Why Sultan al-Jaber both is and isn’t the Right chief for the COP28 Climate Summit

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Sultan al-Jaber, the controversial chairman of the COP28 climate conference, is a United Arab Emirates businessman extraordinaire. His role and that of COP28 appear all the more important in the wake of the terrifying wildfires that swept the tropical island (!) of Maui this week and destroyed the ancient capital […]

China

In 2024, China will hit Peak Gasoline, with its Demand on a Downward Spiral ever After

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Yale Environment 360 points to recent energy reports as suggesting that China will hit peak gasoline next year. That is, after 2024 the country’s demand for gasoline to fuel automobiles will fall every year. China was one of the last advanced economies to lift COVID-19 restrictions, as President Xi Jinping […]

Bush

Iraq’s Climate Crisis: America’s War for Oil and the Great Mesopotamian Dustbowl

Juan Cole

( Tomdispatch.com ) – It was one of the fabled rivers of history and the Marines needed to cross it. In early April 2003, as American forces sought to wrap up their conquest of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and take strongholds to its north, the Marine Corps formed “Task Force Tripoli.” It was commanded by […]

Climate Crisis

Thumbing Nose at US, Saudi Cuts Oil production, Helping Russian War Effort, as Maduro Visits Riyadh

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) of Saudi Arabia has taken several steps sure to annoy Washington in just the past week. Iran has reopened its embassy in Riyadh. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros has come for a visit to the kingdom just before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s […]