IEA Projects Global Oil Demand Will Peak This Decade |
A new report [PDF] by the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that the growth in global demand for oil will slow to only four hundred thousand barrels per day by 2028, putting “a peak in global oil demand in sight before the end of this decade,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a note (IEA). The taper in demand is driven by the current shift to a green energy economy, and Birol called for oil producers to adjust their investment decisions to align with advancing technologies in the clean energy transition.
The projections come as climate negotiators wrap up two weeks of annual talks (Climate Home News) in Bonn, Germany, that were designed to raise ambitions ahead of this year’s UN climate change conference but have been fraught by divisions and little progress, especially with regard to climate finance.
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U.S. Secretary of State Will Make Delayed Trip to Beijing This Weekend |
Antony Blinken’s visit was originally planned for early February (CNN) but delayed after U.S. forces shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon. Blinken will be the first Cabinet official in the Biden administration to travel to China.
Canada/China: Canada will halt its activities (FT) at the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank after a Canadian official resigned, saying Chinese officials at the bank “operate like an internal secret police.” The bank called his statements “baseless and disappointing.”
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Fighting Between Myanmar’s Army, Rebels Kills Twenty-Six Civilians |
The fighting broke out (AP) east of Myanmar’s capital yesterday, according to a rights group and a humanitarian relief organization. A coup in 2021 has sparked protests and armed resistance against the military-installed government.
India/Pakistan: The number of people who have evacuated ahead of Cyclone Biparjoy’s expected landfall today rose to more than 170,000 (BBC). The cyclone is expected to first reach the Indian state of Gujarat.
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Middle East and North Africa |
NYT: U.S. Seeks Informal Deal to Limit Iran’s Nuclear Program |
U.S. diplomats have been pushing for the deal to also free imprisoned Americans and halt Iran’s and its proxies’ lethal attacks on U.S. contractors in Iraq and Syria, the New York Times reported. In exchange, the United States would refrain from tightening sanctions, seizing oil-bearing tankers, and seeking punishments for Iran in international forums for its nuclear activity.
Israel: Israel’s parliament elected an opposition lawmaker (AP) to the committee that appoints judges yesterday, raising doubts about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s control over his coalition and narrowly avoiding his controversial judicial overhaul plan. This article by CFR expert Elliott Abrams looks at the debate over the role of the judiciary in the Israeli government. |
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Governor of Sudan’s West Darfur State Killed After Appealing for Civilian Protections |
Hours before Khamis Abdallah Abkar was assassinated yesterday, he gave a telephone interview accusing the paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and other militias of killing civilians, and made an appeal for international intervention (Sudan Tribune). The Sudanese army issued a statement saying that the RSF had arrested and assassinated him.
Nigeria: The government allowed Nigeria’s naira currency to float freely (FT) after years of being pegged to the U.S. dollar as the latest move in a series of market reforms by President Bola Tinubu.
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Germany Unveils First Ever National Security Strategy |
The document addresses (NYT) Russia’s threat to European security, calls China a “complicated competitor” but “necessary partner,” and pledges to address climate change.
EU/Kosovo: The European Union (EU) introduced rare financial restrictions (FT) on Kosovo for failing to de-escalate tensions with its ethnic Serb community, which have escalated in recent days. The restrictions follow similar measures that the United States took against Kosovo last month. |
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Guatemalan Court Sentences Prominent Journalist to Six Years in Prison |
Press freedom and human rights advocates condemned the money laundering charges (NPR) against José Rubén Zamora. The Committee to Protect Journalists called the sentence a “stark testament to the erosion of speech” in Guatemala. More than twenty journalists have fled the country in the past year.
Ecuador: Eight candidates have registered to run (Reuters) in early presidential elections scheduled for August. Outgoing President Guillermo Lasso triggered the elections after he dissolved the legislature in May and then abruptly announced the end of his term to avoid impeachment proceedings.
CFR expert Will Freeman lays out how Ecuador is simultaneously dealing with a surge in crime and violence.
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Federal Reserve Skips Potential Rate Rise, Signals Two More Could Come |
It is the first pause in the Federal Reserve’s regular interest rate rises in more than a year, but the bank’s chairman suggested they were not done increasing rates (FT) in an effort to control inflation. The next interest rate hike could be implemented as soon as July.
This Backgrounder by Anshu Siripurapu and CFR’s Noah Berman and James McBride explains the role of the Federal Reserve.
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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