By Vijay Jayaraj As host of the Sept. 9 G20 summit, India is ready to defend its use of fossil fuels despite the hostility of some of its guests toward the energy source. Speaking at a pre-summit conclave organized by local media, Union Power Minister R.K. Singh answered criticism that his country is a large emitter of… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Four years after TotalEnergies vacated its Afungi site in northern Mozambique amid civil unrest, the company restarted its $20 billion liquefied natural gas project. The gas had not moved. The geology had not improved. What changed sat 8,000 miles away at the U.S. Export-Import Bank, where a newly appointed board reauthorized a… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Climate alarmists treat fossil fuels as the producer of soot and environmental damage, yet the record is more complicated and quite positive. New research shows nitrogen deposition from the burning of hydrocarbons has helped to expand plant growth and the greening of large parts of the planet. A Nutrient Hidden in Emissions… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj For campaigners of the net zero agenda, “climate action” must come first, even if it means throttling the energy lifelines for billions of the poor. The data say something very different. A sweeping analysis by Kevin Dayaratna and Kat Miller, “Energy Abundance and Human Flourishing: A Data‑Driven Global Analysis,” shows what history… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj A millennium ago, India’s Chola Kingdom commanded the seas of Southeast Asia, forming with the Indonesian archipelago deep mercantile and cultural roots and a shared economic destiny that lasted for hundreds of years. In the 21st century, these two giants are again engaging in complementary roles on the global stage. India is… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Sometimes a story gets buried not because editors conspire against it, but because the news cycle has room for only one crisis at a time. This year the big news has been the Iran war. But even accounting for competing headlines, the silence around a genuinely consequential development is telling. And that… Continue Reading
By Samuel Furfari An Energy Institute report reveals a Europe clinging to the pretense of leading an “energy transition” as the continent declines under the weight of climate policies whose quixotically utopian objectives are negated elsewhere by fossil fuel-supported economic growth. Data from the 75th edition of the annual “Statistical Review of World Energy” will… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Much of the global energy conversation still pretends that coal is on its way out. The pretense may be comforting to activists, investors, and policymakers who built their plans for a transition to so-called clean energy that never acknowledged the limitations of solar and wind power. However, the newest work by Lars… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Not long ago, Japan stood before the world pledging to become a paragon of decarbonization. Government papers were filled with talk of hydrogen corridors, offshore wind farms, and electric vehicle subsidies. To satisfy international climate lobbies, Japan planned for years to phase out coal. Operations at coal-fired power plants were restricted to… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Canada’s picturesque Sea to Sky Highway from Vancouver to Whistler, British Columbia, is 75 miles of soaring beauty. One of my favorites, the trip takes the traveler from sea level to an elevation of 2,200 feet with nearby peaks more than four times higher. Similarly inspiring in its economic rise was Canada… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj The June G7 Summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, marked a major pivot. Driven by severe energy and commodity shocks stemming from the conflict in the Middle East—specifically transit disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz—G7 leaders overwhelmingly prioritized energy security, price insulation, and survival of the fossil fuel supply chain over aggressive timelines for… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Much of the world was optimistic after a peace deal ended months of conflict in the Middle East that had disrupted the global oil trade. But peace in that region has long been a tenuous matter, and how long it lasts is anybody’s guess. Nonetheless, there are other reasons for optimism that… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj When temperatures elevate in Europe, political rhetoric rises even faster. Within days of the June 2026 heat wave, familiar voices rushed to assign blame. John Kerry, speaking to the BBC, labeled the current U.S. administration “dangerous and reckless” on climate. U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell declared that “Europe’s savage heat wave has… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj For years, Indonesia, with the world’s fourth largest population, was part of a global chorus of climate commitments. Like many others, the government had embraced a moral pretense behind the diplomatic language of reducing emissions of harmless greenhouse gases in the quixotic pursuit of an energy transition to save the planet. However,… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Instability in the Middle East has disrupted oil and gas flows to India. However, India’s proposed plan to produce 30% ethanol-blended gasoline and diesel as a response to supply anxiety would be a costly error. To understand the pending disaster, you only need look to the United States. Failed American corn-ethanol For… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj A quiet technical decision in climate science should trigger one of the most consequential policy corrections of this decade. Deep within the bureaucratic machinery of global climate research sits an obscure modeling group called the Scenario Model Intercomparison Project. It is a foundational component of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project organized by… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj A claim that repeatedly clashes with observable reality demands scrutiny. Such claims survive only when contradictory evidence is buried, data selectively presented, or fear trumps fact. Such is the case with the apocalyptic narrative of climate change. One among the many pretenses of doomsayers is that shifting climate patterns threaten global food… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to India produced much-needed diplomatic momentum, with more ground to cover on the energy front. Even with an Indian commitment to purchase $500 billion in American goods over the next five years, Rubio’s stated desire to supply “as much energy” as India is willing to… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Amsterdam just became the world’s first capital to outlaw public ads for both meat and fossil fuels. Starting May 1, city officials scrubbed billboards, tram stops, and metro stations of promotions for gasoline cars, airlines, cruises, and distant vacations, along with beef, chicken, pork, and fish. In place of the now illegal… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Africa’s push to host world-class data centers — AI’s digital engines — is running up against a political embargo on the fuels that reliably power them, and ordinary Africans are paying the price. Kenya just shelved a $1 billion project backed by Microsoft and UAE-based G42. President William Ruto explained the decision… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj For years, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) governments faced pressure from international lenders and climate forums to announce fossil fuel phase-outs, moratoriums on new plants, and heavy bets on wind and solar. Indonesia and Vietnam secured decarbonization-inspired funding from the Just Energy Transition Partnership. Leaders spoke of achieving net-zero goals by… Continue Reading
By Dr. Samuel Furfari On May 1st, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) slammed the door on OPEC. This is not a minor episode in the oil saga; it is a geopolitical earthquake. The Emirates understood that the age of the cartel was over. Spurred by the July 2021 dispute over OPEC+ quotas, Abu Dhabi began a… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called the nuclear phaseout a “serious strategic mistake” that left Germany short of firm power that turned the Energiewende into the most expensive energy transition on the planet. This is an early marker for a developing worldwide retreat from policies that sidelined nuclear power and demonized coal,… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Just a few months ago, South Korean officials were busy boasting about extreme net zero targets. Fast forward to April 2026, and the country is scrambling to secure every vessel load of oil and natural gas available on the global market. Last November, the Presidential Commission on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth… Continue Reading
by Steve Goreham Artificial intelligence is impacting the economy on a scale that may surpass changes from the internet revolution. Science, technology, energy, transportation, health care, industry, and business are being transformed at an accelerating pace. President Trump has emerged as an AI champion, but opposition is rising from progressive and environmental groups. The term “artificial… Continue Reading
4.14.2026
Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz force us to reconsider material benefits of fossil fuels
by Ron Stein Recent calls for a more realistic shift from “decarbonization” to “low carbon” suggest that discomfort with ideology-driven climate policy is finally beginning to surface in public debate. For years, climate discussions in many countries have been dominated by abstract targets, slogans, and numerical commitments. Yet behind these lofty ideals lies a deeper… Continue Reading