Fwd: China is the war’s energy ‘winner’
Loretta Lohman
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What defines victory in the Middle East is currently the source of much debate. But one country is emerging as a clear winner, at least when it comes to energy — China. Today’s newsletter looks at how the conflict is likely to force Asian economic giants including Japan, South Korea and India to diversify their energy mix using equipment that comes from China. We also take you inside the Washington, DC, ballroom where EPA administrator Lee Zeldin gave a keynote speech at the Heartland Institute’s annual climate denial confab. And we have the latest on climate diplomacy news, with India withdrawing as a host of COP33. The war’s energy ‘winner’As war injects extreme volatility into oil and gas markets, the global race for energy security is making China stronger, according to Jacky Tang, emerging markets chief investment officer at the private banking arm of Deutsche Bank AG. “China is the winner in this war from an economic standpoint, from an energy mix standpoint,” he said in an interview.  Solar
panel manufacturing in China
Photographer:
SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
The prediction feeds into a complex picture. Bruegel, a think tank, says China’s reliance on oil imports from Iran is set to pose a “severe test” for its energy strategy. At the same time, the country’s status as the world’s largest producer of clean tech puts it in a unique position to help governments now desperate to wean themselves off Middle East imports, according to the Deutsche Bank executive. Longer term, Tang says “everybody knows” that the world “cannot rely on oil.”  Smoke
rises after an explosion in the industrial zone in
Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.
Source:
Bloomberg
He says it’s a realization that will force a reset in Asia, the biggest importer of Middle Eastern oil. Japan, Korea and India are now all more likely to look for ways to diversify their energy mix, and the equipment needed to achieve that diversification will inevitably come from China, Tang said. As the conflict in the Middle East veers between existential threats and a fragile ceasefire, volatility in oil and gas prices has skyrocketed. The promise of a two-week break from fighting offered relief on Wednesday morning, with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz listed as a condition of the deal. For now, however, the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, pushing up the price of Brent crude. “The situation remains fluid,” analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a note. And by Thursday, optimism over the US-Iran ceasefire had faded after Tehran warned that some terms of the deal had been breached. Against that backdrop, governments will continue to work toward energy independence. China, which remains the world’s largest consumer of coal, is rapidly building out its clean-tech sector as part of its goal of achieving energy independence. Get
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Much cleaner40% Proportion of low-carbon sources in China’s energy mix, compared with about 25% a decade ago, according to Ember Pricing power“China is quite determined to make sure that prices stay at a competitive level and at the same time, that companies can survive” Jacky Tang Emerging markets chief investment officer at the private banking arm of Deutsche Bank AG New on ZeroSince the US and Israel launched their attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, global energy markets have been frenetic, prices swinging up and down with each new headline. Even with the prospect of the Strait of Hormuz reopening, prices of oil and gas have risen around the world, and we’re starting to see impacts on local economies, particularly in Asia. This week on Zero, Bloomberg opinion columnist David Fickling explains what those impacts are, and how they may reshape Asia’s energy systems for decades to come. Listen now, and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or YouTube to get new episodes of Zero every Thursday. Not-so-strange bedfellowsBy Zahra Hirji Lee Zeldin touted his deregulatory record as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency before the staunchest supporters of his policies. The EPA chief, who has been floated as a possible pick for attorney general, was the keynote speaker at a climate denial conference put on by the Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank that has likened people worried about climate change to the Unabomber.  Lee Zeldin
at the White House.
Photographer:
Aaron Schwartz/Sipa/Bloomberg
The speech underscored the radical change at the EPA under President Donald Trump compared to his predecessor’s efforts to cut emissions. “If the election didn’t go the same way in November 2024, I’m pretty confident that whoever would be in this position instead of me might not have been here this morning,” Zeldin told the crowd of roughly a couple hundred people gathered in a hotel basement ballroom just a few minutes walk from the White House, prompting the room to explode with laughter. He touted the cancellation of tens of billions of dollars of climate and environmental justice grants and his effort to rescind the so-called endangerment finding, a 2009 landmark scientific finding that serves as a key legal underpinning to various federal climate rules. Read
the story
Opinion: Hawaii wants Big Oil to pay for disastersThe Aloha State is bracing this week for its third “Kona low” storm in a month, reminding us that no corner of the planet will be spared from an atmosphere made more dangerous by global heating. The back-to-back blows inflicted more than $2 billion in damages and economic losses. Now, Hawaii is becoming a battleground in the fight over who will ultimately pay for all the destruction. Read
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Modi at COP28.
Photographer:
Hollie Adams/Bloomberg
India has withdrawn its bid to host COP33, the 2028 United Nations-backed climate summit, a setback for the diplomatic process to combat global warming under the Paris Agreement. Antarctica’s iconic emperor penguin has been deemed an endangered species as the sea ice it depends on shrinks due to rising temperatures, according the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Surging prices for plastic caused by disruptions from the Iran war have pushed one US toymaker to buy up more inventory than needed before the conflict boosts costs even higher. Photo finish Visitors
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