Japan's car giants are in trouble. They ignored / lobbied against electrification - and now it's come back to the bite them in the exhaust pipe @TheEconomist

economist.com/busine...?

China's strategy to invest heavily in clean tech (while keeping its coal fleet running) 'embodies strategic wisdom' and 'fosters a trillion-yuan-level industrial chain' says Beijing's National Energy Agency. Mitts being rubbed as rivals fret & fray...

www.nea.gov.cn/20260...

'Australia is not taking serious action on climate change' - blunt charge against #COP31 co-hosts from @TheAusInstitute - which adds: 'tax concessions account for the largest part of overall fossil fuel subsidies'.

australiainstitute.o...

It's time for an EU #climate diplomacy reset, argue Linda Kalcher, Anne-Sophie Cerisola & Norbert Gorissen @StrategicEU

backchannel1.substac...

Leading from the “Global Middle”: China’s Bid to Host the New Ocean Treaty China’s bid to host the UN’s BBNJ treaty secretariat highlights its growing influence in global ocean governance and tensions between the Global North and South.

If China lands this what odds it hosts #COP33 too - cementing its grip on the clean tech narrative

Of all the energy related graphics I've ever seen, this by @EIAgov is up there as one of the odder / more confusing ones...

www.eia.gov/todayine...

US @EIAgov expects solar to generate '17% more electricity than it did last summer' rising to 22% in 2027.

www.eia.gov/outlooks...

By 2050, the adoption of EVs in Saudi Arabia is expected to reduce oil consumption in the road transport sector 'by 20.2 % in the high-growth scenario, 15.4 % in the moderate-growth scenario, and 11.0 % in the low-growth scenario'

www.sciencedirect.co...

The Clean Economy Imperative and the Fossil Fuel Reckoning: Why the Iran Shock Is Progressives’ Economic Moment The Iran war makes irrefutable that clean energy has always been a more affordable, secure, and competitive bet than fossil fuels.

'The oil shock has handed progressive leaders a major opportunity. The question is whether they will seize it' - the team @amprog lay down the challenge to leaders / communicators. Worth a read.

For now, the war in the Middle East hasn't led to increased coal burn relative to last year's level. Solar and wind continue to increase their share in the global mix. energyandcleanair.org/fossil-power...

'CATL’s battery factories are vast and highly automated, stretching as long as six football fields laid end to end. The company is building them at a rapid clip to keep up with the surging demand.'

Some read this...
www.nytimes.com/2026...

The only lasting way out of the fossil dependency is shifting electricity generation to renewables and nuclear.

And electrifying the economy as rapidly as possible.

We will present our electrification strategy before the summer.

Electrifying Europe means making Europe more independent.

Somehow the gas lobbyists @ GECF reckon a #COP30 deal on adaptation (such as it was) = green light for 'natural gas to expand its role in the global energy mix' - which seems a somewhat generous interpretation... www.gecf.org/Portals...

More countries have plans to quit fossil fuels than you think (50+ have power sector phaseout plans, for a start) - via @ClimaInfoNews

backchannel1.substac...

Orban will win again and the Leftist chatterati just doesn’t get why Contrary to received opinion, the Hungarian prime minister remains popular among ordinary voters. Here’s why

Bloody Leftist chatterati

'At the end of the Tet Offensive, both sides had endured losses, and both sides claimed victory. The U.S. and South Vietnamese military response almost completely eliminated the NLF forces and regained all of the lost territory'

Feels oddly familiar...

history.state.gov/mi...

(S+) Friedrich Merz zählt Katherina Reiche an - Spritpreis-Streit Der Kanzler verliert allmählich die Geduld mit seiner Wirtschaftsministerin. Das hat der SPIEGEL aus seinem Umfeld erfahren. Es heißt, Merz sei »befremdet« über Reiches öffentliche Kritik am Koalitionspartner SPD.

Merz losing patience with his climate trashing / oil & gas loving minister Reiche, reports @derspiegel

COP33: India withdraws bid to host the conference India has withdrawn its bid to host the UN Climate Change Conference (COP33) in 2028. The decision followed months of debate within the government over the country’s stance on climate policy.

Looking forward to Pakistan throwing its hat into the #COP33 UN #climate summit hosting ring now India has pulled out - would also enhance Islamabad's desire to be seen as a diplomatic player... CoolBreeze?

UK EV sales having a shocker

www.bloomberg.com/ne...

"King Lear" (1974) with James Earl Jones, Act II Scene 4 James Earl Jones' breathtaking performance in the climactic confrontation of King Lear with his daughters in Act II Scene 4 of William Shakespeare's "King Lear". Fragment of a televised version of the 1974 New York Shakespeare Festival production in Central Park. Released on DVD: http://ww

Shakespeare for a Tuesday... prescient

'I will have such revenges on you both,
That all the world shall--I will do such things,--
What they are, yet I know not: but they shall be
The terrors of the earth. You think I'll weep
No, I'll not weep'

Revealed: certified low-methane U.S. LNG likely more polluting than claimed - Gas Outlook Certified low-methane U.S. LNG that is touted as meeting new EU law is likely more polluting than claimed, our investigation shows.

LNG: not as 'clean' as they'd have you believe. Cracking investigation into US methane leaks here... not a good look for BP

Correlation between a council declaring a climate emergency and actually doing something useful > minimal

IPCC: ‘Frustrating and disappointing’ meeting leaves AR7 timeline in deadlock - Carbon Brief Governments are still at loggerheads over the timeline for publishing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate...

Saudi Arabia, Russia and others yet again blocking progress on climate science ...

> IPCC: ‘Frustrating and disappointing’ meeting leaves AR7 timeline in deadlock

#climatecrisis
@carbonbrief.org
www.carbonbrief.org/ipcc-frustra...

Opinion | This Energy Crisis Is Going to Change the World

'The most fossil fuel-friendly government in recent U.S. history has shown us all just how risky reliance on oil and gas can be — and taught the world that true energy security lies in accelerating toward a cleaner, electrified future.'

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/01/o...

Good stat this: 46 countries already have power sector fossil fuel phaseout plans. Fewer have clear transport, buildings, heating and cooling proposals (via @IISD_news) but many appear to have single-sector proposals...

www.iisd.org/system/...

A thread -- which world leaders are calling for a shift to clean energy as a security investment in light of Iran War?

First up, French President Macron: "...everything we do to more toward the transition is also about reducing our dependence.." (1/x)

#cleanenergyisnationalsecurity

Govt / biz energy policy responses to Iran war over past 2-3 weeks - turning into quite a list climatediplobrief.su...

Climate Diplomacy Brief - April 2026 Is Trump in line for a Nobel climate prize as Iran war batters global fossil fuel markets?

**Climate Diplomacy Brief - April 2026**

Is Trump in line for a Nobel #climate prize as Iran war batters global fossil fuel markets?

李 “화석에너지 의존하면 위험…재생에너지로 빨리 전환해야”｜동아일보 이재명 대통령은 30일 “지금 전 세계적으로 에너지 문제 때문에 난리가 났지 않느냐. 저도 잠이 잘 안 올 정도로 심각한 상황”이라며 “대한민국은 전체적으로 재생에너지로 정말 신속하게 전환해야 한다”고 말했다. 중동 사태 장기화로 에너지 수급 위기감이 확산하는 가운데…

South Korea's President on energy crisis: 'It’s a situation so serious that even I can’t sleep. South Korea needs to transition to renewable energy quickly. If we rely on fossil energy, the future will be extremely risky.'

The shift from oil isn't just about being 'green' anymore. It's a massive power move for national security. As energy flows grow increasingly tenuous amid the Iran war, governments may be forced toward the green transition more out of a need for energy security than altruistic ambitions on climate change.

Quite a read this from oil & gas HQ Houston: 'The shift from oil isn't just about being 'green' anymore. It's a massive power move for national security.'