Europe – Page 15 – Desdemona Despair

Change in primary energy by fuel, 2007-2021. Primary energy in 2021 grew by its largest amount in history, with emerging economies accounting for most of the increase. Primary energy grew by 31 exajoules (EJ) in 2021, the largest increase in history and more than reversing the sharp decline seen in 2020. Primary energy in 2021 was 8 EJ above 2019 levels. The increase in primary energy in 2021 was driven by emerging economies, which increased by 13 EJ, with China expanding by 10 EJ. Taking 2020 and 2021 together, primary energy consumption in emerging economies increased by 15 EJ, largely reflecting growth in China (13 EJ). In contrast, energy demand in developed economies in 2021 was 7 EJ below 2019 levels. The increase in primary energy between 2019 and 2021 was entirely driven by renewable energy sources. The level of fossil fuel energy consumption was unchanged between 2019 and 2021, with lower oil demand (-8 EJ) offset by higher natural gas (5 EJ) and coal (3 EJ) consumption. Graphic: BP

June 28, 2022

BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022: Carbon emissions rebound after pandemic dip – Coal prices surge – “The world remains on an unsustainable path”

By Spencer Dale 28 June 2022 (BP) – The challenges and uncertainties facing the global energy system are at their greatest for almost 50 years, at the time of the last great energy shocks of the 1970s. Most immediate is the impact of the terrible events taking place in Ukraine, with its tragic toll on […]

The bones of other animals surround an emaciated cow in Ethiopia’s Somali Region. Carcasses are a daily reminder of the devastation caused by the 2021-22 drought. Photo: Michael Tewelde / WFP

June 27, 2022

Horn of Africa braces for “explosion of child deaths” as hunger crisis deepens – Three million livestock have died since mid-2021 from drought and disease

7 June 2022 (UNICEF) – An “explosion of child deaths” is likely and imminent in the Horn of Africa unless the international community takes immediate action to prevent a new hunger disaster, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday. To illustrate continuing deep concern about emergency levels of malnutrition in Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa, […]

Pipes at the landfall facilities of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, 8 March 2022. Photo: Hannibal Hanschke / REUTERS

June 26, 2022

Europe may shift back to coal as Russia turns down gas flows – “If we don’t do it, then we run the risk that the storage facilities will not be full enough at the end of the year toward the winter season. And then we are blackmailable on a political level.”

By Vera Eckert and Francesca Landini 20 June 2022 FRANKFURT/MILAN (Reuters) – Europe’s biggest Russian gas buyers raced to find alternative fuel supplies on Monday and could burn more coal to cope with reduced gas flows from Russia that threaten an energy crisis in winter if stores are not refilled. Germany, Italy, Austria and the […]

A satellite image shows fields peppered with artillery craters near Slovyansk, Ukraine, on 6 June 2022. From a dramatic loss of export revenue to mine-riddled fields and exploding machinery, Russia’s invasion has taken a massive toll on Ukraine’s agriculture sector. Photo: Maxar Technologies

June 26, 2022

UN chief warns of “unprecedented hunger crisis” from global food shortage – “No country will be immune to the social and economic repercussions of such a catastrophe”

BERLIN, 24 June 2022 (AP) – The head of the United Nations warned Friday that the world faces “catastrophe” because of the growing shortage of food around the globe. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war in Ukraine has added to the disruptions caused by climate change, the coronavirus pandemic and inequality to produce an “unprecedented global […]

Map showing the Global Peace Index in 2022. The average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.3 percent in the 2022 GPI. Graphic: IEP

June 21, 2022

Global Peace Index 2022: Peacefulness declines to lowest level in 15 years – “The economic value of lost peace reached record levels in 2021”

15 June 2022 (IEP) – The 16th edition of the annual Global Peace Index (GPI) report, the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness, reveals that the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.3% in 2021. This is the eleventh deterioration in peacefulness in the last fourteen years, with 90 countries improving, and 71 deteriorating, […]

EU Carbon Permit price, 2005-2022. The price on 8 June 2022 is indicated. Graphic: Trading Economics

June 8, 2022

Risk of delay to carbon market reforms after surprise EU vote – “All those that voted against today can think twice … please don’t kill the ETS”

By Kate Abnett 8 June 2022 BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Parliament on Wednesday rejected a proposal to upgrade the European Union’s carbon market, an unexpected move that exposed divisions over the bloc’s core climate policy and could delay negotiations to finish the measure. A committee of lawmakers must now try to forge a new […]

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa speaks to delegates at the Bonn annual UN Climate Change Conference, 6 June 2022. Photo: Kiara Worth / ENB

June 6, 2022

Climate talks start in Bonn as Ukraine war overshadows threat of global warming – “There is this disconnect between the scientific evidence of global crisis in the making, versus the lack of action”

6 June 2022 (AFP) – Negotiators from almost 200 countries will meet in Bonn Monday for climate talks tasked with reigniting momentum on tackling global warming, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine overshadows the threat from rising emissions. The conference will set the stage for a fresh round of major United Nations talks later this year […]

World cereal production, utilization, stocks, 2012-2022 and projected to 2023. Based on world cereal production and utilization estimates, cereal stocks at the end of seasons in 2022 are seen rising above their opening levels but remaining below the record levels reached in 2018/19. Global trade in cereals in 2021/22 is estimated below the 2020/21 record level, mostly owing to an expected fall in global maize trade and reflecting the impact of disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine. Looking forward to the 2022/23 season, early prospects for cereal production in 2022 point to a likely decrease, which would mark the first decline in four years. Graphic: FAO

June 3, 2022

World cereal production, utilization, stocks, and trade all likely to contract in 2022/23 – U.N. forecast shows first decline in world cereal utilization in twenty years

3 June 2022 (FAO) – FAO’s latest estimates indicate a year-on-year 0.9 percent increase in global cereal production in 2021, largely attributed to a higher maize output. Cereal utilization is also estimated to increase in 2021/22, by 1.1 percent, driven by (in order of magnitude) expansions in food consumption (especially of wheat and rice), other […]

The ashes of burnt grain can be seen in a grain silo in the town of Sivers’k, Donbas in May 2022. Photo: Alex Chan / SOPA Images / Sipa USA / Reuters

June 3, 2022

Russia’s war on global food security – Russia’s blockade of Ukraine grain exports may cause starvation of 47 million people – “It will result in famine and destabilization and mass migration around the world”

By Anders Åslund 1 June 2022 (Atlantic Council) – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine is also a war on global food security. In February 2022, Russia blockaded all of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, through which all its bulk exports were being shipped. The ports remain closed, with no opening in sight. David Beasley, […]

A protester in Sri Lanka hurls a tear-gas canister back at the police officers who fired it, 19 May 2022. Photo: Atul Loke / The New York Times

May 22, 2022

Sri Lanka is the first domino to fall in the face of a global debt crisis – Will Bangladesh be next? – “I’m deeply concerned about developing countries”

By Larry Elliott 9 May 2022 (The Guardian) – The departure of Sri Lanka’s prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, follows weeks of protest and a deepening crisis. There is no bankruptcy system for states but if there was then the south Asian country – down to its last $50m (£40m) of reserves – would be first in […]