Chris Aylett
@chrisaylett.bsky.social
Research Fellow @chathamhouse focusing on the geopolitics of climate change and the energy transition. Views my own. https://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/our-people/chris-aylett Header: 'A List of Antagonisms', Hiba Abdallah
I think there's every chance Trump will move to restrict US oil exports, if pump prices carry on rising. What sort of America First populist wouldn't? (the answer: one that has also received bucketloads of cash from the oil industry)
Liam Denning@liamdenning.bsky.social · yesterdayTrump’s pump price anxiety is rising. He might yet turn on Big Oil @opinion.bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
"Measures to increase water efficiency (...) include a credit scheme where developers pay to offset the water increases their housing developments will cause" I encounter a lot of bad ideas in my line of work but this one is a belter www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘We cannot magic up more water’: the supply problems putting housing targets in England at risk
Council leaders say crumbling infrastructure and lack of water are jeopardising government’s plans for new homes
theguardian.com
Hungary's new government is tested very early. Paks nuclear plant is about to go offline for the first time in 44 years because the Danube is drying up. That's nearly half the country's electricity. Collapsed supply & gas prices spiking throughout the region. Just brutal. apnews.com/article/hung...
Hungary braces for a full shutdown of the Paks nuclear plant as the Danube River hits record lows
Hungary's only nuclear power plant is shutting down for the first time due to record-low water levels on the Danube River.
apnews.com
The point isn't to produce essays, it's to teach students how to think for fuck's sake. The minute you automate that, it's over. You might as well close the course. Which they're also doing. This is an attack on learning, and everyone is just shrugging.
Full of despair today. Massive lay offs in social sciences and humanities across the country, Burnham puts out a video saying 'AI can write an essay', and my university is busy integrating co-pilot into all staff and student computers. We are being told we're defunct and there's no resistance.
The diminishing returns from North Sea oil and gas will flow to a shrinking subset of firms and workers By contrast, the future of the clean energy system can be one of growth and the distribution of benefits across the country Manchesterism for energy www.chathamhouse.org/2026/07/why-...
Why Burnham should back Britain's new clean energy system, not more North Sea drilling
Renewables and electrification could help the new prime minister deliver on his promise to distribute economic benefits across the UK.
chathamhouse.org
If I can, let me explain today's Times story. This is less to do with renewables and much more to do with where generation is located and how it shows up at a system level. /1
Dr Stylite@columnist.bsky.social · 2w agoCan anyone provide me with an informed opinion re the greater / lesser / same propensity for electricity shortages the greater the use of renewable.* * I get that in principle wind / solar is less controllable than fossil fuels but presumably that just means operating with a greater supply margin?
A "dynamic" charge towards the 1970s, before we extracted over 90% of the oil and gas on the UK Continental Shelf And before we had viable alternatives which don't cook the planet
Akshat Rathi@akshatrathi.bsky.social · 3w ago"Andy Burnham will announce plans for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea when he becomes prime minister on Monday, the BBC has been told." He intends to make a "dynamic" start, apparently. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
"Andy Burnham will announce plans for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea when he becomes prime minister on Monday, the BBC has been told." He intends to make a "dynamic" start, apparently. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Burnham to announce plans for new North Sea oil and gas drilling
Drilling has become a controversial topic for the Labour party after the 2024 manifesto pledged to not issue new licences.
bbc.co.uk
The England fans are to blame. They were given a perfectly serviceable New Order song with some nice Italo piano and John Barnes rapping over the top. What do the estate agents dressed as crusaders choose to sing? Wonderwall and Three Lions.
How high can it go? EU gas prices surge above €50 as markets finally reflect the reality that Hormuz won’t ever return to pre-war free passage. What’s amazing is it took so many months to get to this place.
Energy Flux@energyflux.bsky.social · 3w agoTTF gas prices edge towards €55/MWh as Middle East LNG supply faces headwinds. The benchmark's move reflects market apprehension over transit risks in key shipping corridors, particularly the Strait of Hormuz. exchange.energyflux.news/t/ttf-gas-p...
NEW: Dubai plans new port to bypass Strait of Hormuz in the latest sign of this crisis having much longer term impacts for trade and shipping: www.ft.com/content/1f97... Story with Middle East colleagues @financialtimes.com
Dubai plans new port to bypass Strait of Hormuz
Project to build capacity on UAE’s east coast represents a major shift after US-Iran war
ft.com
Trump reinstates the Carter Doctrine, with added extortion
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w agoTrump: "The USA will be, from this point forward, known as 'THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,' but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security ... "
'Open' and 'closed' have long since ceased to have any meaning in the context of Hormuz It's entirely a question of the risk appetite of vessel owners - which is surely diminishing by the day, as Iran launches missiles and the US spreads disinformation www.dw.com/en/iran-anno...
Iran war: US claims Strait of Hormuz is 'open' amid strikes
US President Trump and the US military's Central Command insisted on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz is open despite the Iranian navy declaring it closed. Both sides continue to exchange strikes.
dw.com
Such a good piece Software 'creators' and 'contributors' that use generative AI externalize costs onto the reviewers and maintainers heroically trying to keep critical digital infra from collapsing "AI slop as a tragedy of the commons" Love the Atlas animation too www.ft.com/content/cec8...
Who cleans up after the vibe-coding party?
Our obsession with AI code-writing tools is overwhelming the web’s unsung human caretakers
ft.com
Well, at least you managed your North Sea Oil endowment in a vastly more intelligent and socially beneficial manner than the Brits.
Incredible scenes in Russia - surge in demand for EVs A presumably unintended consequence of the illegal invasion of Ukraine
The China-Global South Project@chinagsproject.bsky.social · last mo.Russia’s fuel crisis is creating an opening for Chinese EV makers. A Moscow dealership says it is now selling two to three Chinese electric vehicles per day, up from just two to three per month weeks ago.
250 years of burning fossil fuels fuelled a record shattering humid heatwave in Eastern North America for the 250th anniversary celebrations on 4th of July. Turning any outdoor activities into a dangerous health risk. - @wwattribution.bsky.social www.worldweatherattribution.org/fossil-fuels...
Here's a brutal chart which illustrates why Canada might not want to bank on the sunlit uplands of fossil fuel demand growth in Asia h/t @katemac.bsky.social
Chris Aylett@chrisaylett.bsky.social · last mo.Canada's new oil pipeline and five new LNG export terminals are a gamble on future growth in Asian oil and gas demand Given the trauma of the Hormuz shock, and the increasing penetration of demand-destroying EVs, solar and batteries, I'm not sure it'll pay off www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026...
Canada's new oil pipeline and five new LNG export terminals are a gamble on future growth in Asian oil and gas demand Given the trauma of the Hormuz shock, and the increasing penetration of demand-destroying EVs, solar and batteries, I'm not sure it'll pay off www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026...
Canada’s Carney secures deal for pipeline to expand oil exports beyond US
Ottawa says future pipeline will reduce economic dependence on the US amid Donald Trump's trade war.
aljazeera.com
1. Russia starts an illegal war in Ukraine 2. Ukraine strikes Russian oil infrastructure 3. Fuel shortages in Russia, prices surge 4. Russians start buying electric cars (only a handful, but notable in a country resolutely opposed to the energy transition) www.reuters.com/business/ene...
Russian fuel crisis prompts rush for electric cars
A Moscow car dealership is struggling to keep up with demand for new electric vehicles as drivers look to sidestep a fuel crisis that has led to long queues and soaring prices across much of Russia.
reuters.com
According to @thesun.co.uk if the North Sea had been prioritised the UK “might just have the cheapest electricity in the world”. How many people have been misled by this utterly bogus and grotesquely irresponsible claim? Presumably @ipso.co.uk are investigating?
Carbon Brief@carbonbrief.org · last mo.Analysis: UK newspapers have already printed 63 editorials in 2026 backing North Sea drilling ✍️ @joshgabbatiss.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/TlR4Ovg
According to the Statistical Review, coal generation in the US increased 13% in 2025 So US carbon emissions grew 4 times faster (!) than those of China in 2025 and the US accounted for no less than 40% of growth in carbon emissions last year
Chris Aylett@chrisaylett.bsky.social · last mo.Happy Statistical Review of World Energy day, to all those who celebrate it www.energyinst.org/statistical-...
Happy Statistical Review of World Energy day, to all those who celebrate it www.energyinst.org/statistical-...
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The Energy Institute is, as of 2023, the home of the Statistical Review of World Energy, published previously for more than 70 years by bp. The Statistical Review analyses data on world energy markets...
energyinst.org
Europe, the last few days: 🇫🇷 France: Hottest day ever — 43.8°C 🇪🇸 Spain: Hottest June day — 42.7°C 🇩🇪 Germany: Hottest day ever — 41.5°C 🇨🇿 Czechia: Hottest day ever — 40.9°C 🇨🇭 Switzerland: Hottest June day — 38.8°C 🇩🇰 Denmark: Hottest day ever — 37°C 🇬🇧 UK: Hottest June day — 36.7°C #climatecrisis
Spot on - it's a distraction, elevated to the status of the only thing that matters in UK energy policy, by those who have an political or financial interest in maintaining the myth, or are simply ideologically opposed to the idea that the UK should do anything at all about climate change
Giles Wilkes@gilesyb.bsky.social · last mo.The absolute dead giveaway that you're dealing with a third rate economic mind is if they elevate policy towards North Sea licences towards the top of their agenda. On either side of the question. It shows they're incapable of doing basic calculations of significance.
Absolutely mind-boggling stat: "China’s total power capacity reached 4,000 gigawatts in May, reported BJX News, larger than that of the US, EU, India, Russia and Japan combined"
Anika Patel@anikanpatel.carbonbrief.org · last mo.NEW | In the past two weeks, China: 📄 Published several 5 year plans 🎯 Issued new clean energy use targets ⛏️ Enacted, and pushed back on, mineral controls Plus, I dig into the new three-year industry action plan Find out more in my latest China Briefing for @carbonbrief.org ⬇️
Yes, fighting climate change inevitably means fewer jobs in sectors that boil the planet But you think oil and gas guarantees jobs? Shell, BP etc are replacing skilled roles with robots and drones www.ft.com/content/01a7... @unitesharon.bsky.social and @gmbgarysmith.bsky.social
Robots are coming to the oil patch
Also in today’s newsletter, Russia receives an oil windfall amid Iran war
ft.com
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · last mo.Unions combine to try to stop Ed Miliband becoming chancellor ft.trib.al/auMrIQH