Ecological, environmentally-friendly, and green… these are just some of the pretty words we use to paint a positive image out of renewable energy. Doing so is not wrong; after all, if we want to combat the adverse effects of fossil fuel use, framing renewables as something positive will only make us prefer it over other... Continue Reading →
Lost Ice, Found Riches
As the ice in the Arctic gets thinner, resource opportunities are thicker and competition fiercer. Ice is melting at record high rates in the Arctic, and what used to be inaccessible areas are becoming primary targets for some of the world’s superpowers. Countries including Russia, Canada, the US, Greenland (Denmark), Iceland and Norway are fighting... Continue Reading →
Whose Right to Development?
Article 1 of the Declaration on the Right to Development holds that the right to development is an inalienable human right.[1] When this was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1986, it represented a strong step forward for global distributive justice. Today, however, we are facing a situation in which states increasingly invoke the... Continue Reading →
Chinafrica – A Chinese Imperialism
Following the airpocalypse of 2013, a terrible episode involving dangerously high pollution levels, China has been trying to diversify its energy mix so as to limit the environmental crisis within its borders. Among its strategies was to develop the Belt Road Initiative, creating maritime routes from China to Africa. Since the years start of the... Continue Reading →
Will China Launch an Oil War for the South China Sea?
If China wanted to, it could build Australia out of a rock in the sea. China’s militarisation in the South China Sea has been so rapid and blatant that it has resulted in an ICJ case brought by the Philippines, as well as many “freedom of navigation” missions by countries keen to remind the world... Continue Reading →
Venezuela: “From an Oil Powerhouse to Poorhouse”
The current events in Venezuela have unprecedented consequences on Venezuela seen as an oil power and an influential country. With the protests spreading across the country, the US recognition of Juan Guaido, the situation was yet unstable. But it became more insecure with the possible U.S. sanctions on imports of Venezuelan crude oil announced on... Continue Reading →
Are Independent Energy Communities a Harm to Energy Equity?
With the current civilian fight against the use of polluting energy sources which release carbon emissions into the atmosphere, many local communities have sought to place the issue of energy production and distribution at the local scale. In addition, with important rising populations and lagging of national distribution of electricity to rural communities, locally built... Continue Reading →
China a Global Climate Leader? Not so Fast
In November 2017, five months after President Trump announced his intention to withdraw the United States from the Paris Accords, President Xi declared that China was now in the “driving seat” when it came to mitigating global climate change. [1] This was a bold claim, given that China is still the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse... Continue Reading →