What is the future of globalisation? This is among the biggest questions of our time. In June, I argued that, contrary to increasingly widespread opinion, “Globalisation is not dead. It may not even be dying. But it is changing.” Among the most important ways in which it is changing is via the growth of services […]
What is happening with China’s power supply? Since mid-July, China’s electricity load has spiked due to demand for air-conditioning during the peak summer season. In July, electricity consumption rose by 6.3 per cent year on year, with residential consumption jumping 26.8 per cent, according to the National Energy Administration. A total of 19 provincial power […]
China’s leading renewable energy think tank gave the most bullish forecast yet for its renewable power build-out this year as it tries to meet climate goals and reduce foreign fuel dependency. China is set to install a record 156 gigawatts of wind turbines and solar panels this year, said Yi Yuechun, vice dean of the […]
Why do we have an energy shock?
Just two years ago, the price of the benchmark US oil futures contract plunged briefly below zero as the pandemic sank the global economy. A year later, the price had rebounded to pre-pandemic levels and kept on rising as revived demand outstripped growth in crude supplies. Then came a wild series of jolts from the waves of sanctions by the US and its allies to shut out Russia, the source of 10% of the world’s oil (along with other key commodities from wheat to fertilizer to nickel)….
