The reduction of CO2 emissions be possible? / Robert Douglas Cairns, Professor, McGill University

China’s dominance in the production of rare earth elements symbolizes the competition for once obscure sets of mineral resources in our increasingly digital, low carbon world. For the last two decades China has produced between 80 and 95 percent of the world’s rare earths – a group of 17 metals that have become key components of revolutionary technological progress in fields ranging from energy, to ICT, to medical devices, to defense. Despite their name, rare earths are not rare, an ...

Les cours de la quasi-totalité des métaux industriels et précieux se sont inscrits, depuis plusieurs mois, dans une dynamique baissière. Si le resserrement de la politique monétaire américaine et l’appréciation consécutive du dollar expliquent en partie cette trajectoire, c’est avant tout l’amoncellement des nuages dans le ciel macroéconomique mondial qui a pesé sur les marchés. L’escalade des tensions commerciales entre les États-Unis et, parmi d’autres pays, la Chine, ne peut être ...

“Teach a parrot the terms ‘supply and demand’ and you’ve got an economist.” That parrot can explain to us what is happening with commodity prices (Chart 1, left side). That is, while agricultural and industrial metal prices - particularly copper - plummeted on average by over 10% since June, energy prices - especially oil - have risen nearly 20% since the beginning of the year. Brent's barrel price is now triple what it was in early 2016. Check the latest World Bank Commodities Pric ...

« Amérique latine, crises et sorties de crises », telle était la première des deux thématiques des 6èmes Dialogues stratégiques, organisés le 4 avril par HEC Paris (Centre de géopolitique) et OCP Policy Center. Un tableau mitigé a été dressé, avec des signes de reprise et une croissance supérieure à 2 % qui n’empêchent pas des situations de crise comme au Brésil, au Nicaragua ou au Vénézuela. Crise d’un modèle d’oligarchies anti-capitalistes Au Vénézuela, la corruption paraît si e ...

This blog post summarizes the key findings of the new book Energy in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities, co-authored by Manfred Hafner, Simone Tagliapietra and Lucia de Strasser of the Italian think-tank, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei. The book, published by Springer, is freely available online. The book presents a picture of the current energy challenges on the African continent- the Sub-Saharan region in particular- and proposes pathways to an accelerated energy transition. Begi ...

As the world is shifting away from conventional fossil fuels towards renewable energy sources, the power industry is starting to invest more in sustainable clean energy installations rather than the traditional large-scale infrastructures, which rely mainly on oil and coal.  Besides its environmental benefits, this shift to renewables is very likely to benefit economic growth as well. A recent study of the International Renewable Energy Agency shows that, indeed, doubling the share ...