“Today’s OPEC meeting makes one thing clear: as long as our world runs on oil and gas, our peace, security and our pockets will always be at the mercy of geopolitics.“
– Greenpeace International Executive Director Mads Christensen
Greenpeace International response to OPEC+ oil output decision amid war on Iran and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz
Greenpeace International
1 Mar 2026
Commenting on today’s OPEC+ decision to increase oil production by 206,000 barrels per day from April in response to the escalation of conflict in Middle East including the disruption of oil and gas supply in the Strait of Hormuz, Greenpeace International Executive Director Mads Christensen said:
“Today’s OPEC meeting makes one thing clear: as long as our world runs on oil and gas, our peace, security and our pockets will always be at the mercy of geopolitics. Increasing output may temporarily ease price pressures, but it does not address the structural vulnerability at the heart of this recurring crisis: the world’s continued dependence on fossil fuels.
“Political leaders in all countries must wake up and reclaim the moral compass. This means pursuing peaceful, diplomatic solutions, and securing access to affordable, sustainable energy to replace the volatility of the fossil fuel–driven world order. Renewable energy enables local energy production and is not hostage to geopolitical conflict.
"China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fell by 1% in the final quarter of 2025, likely securing a decline of 0.3% for the full year as a whole.
This extends a “flat or falling” trend in China’s CO2 emissions that began in March 2024 and has now lasted for nearly two years.
The new analysis for Carbon Brief shows that, in 2025, emissions from fossil fuels increased by an estimated 0.1%, but this was more than offset by a 7% decline in CO2 from cement.
Other key findings include:
CO2 emissions fell year-on-year in almost all major sectors in 2025, including transport (3%), power (1.5%) and building materials (7%).
The key exception was the chemicals industry, where emissions grew 12%.
Solar power output increased by 43% year-on-year, wind by 14% and nuclear 8%, helping push down coal generation by 1.9%.
Energy storage capacity grew by a record 75 gigawatts (GW), well ahead of the rise in peak demand of 55GW.
This means that growth in energy storage capacity and clean-power output topped the increases in peak and total electricity demand, respectively.
The CO2 numbers imply that China’s carbon intensity – its fossil-fuel emissions per unit of GDP – fell by 4.7% in 2025 and by 12% during 2020-25.
This is well short of the 18% target set for that period by the 14th five-year plan.
Moreover, China would now need to cut its carbon intensity by around 23% over the next five years in order to meet one of its key climate commitments under the Paris Agreement."
"With his claims of U.S. sovereignty over nations in the Western Hemisphere, Trump’s basically saying, 'Well, this is ours, and China, Russia can have their spheres of influence.' And it is very 19th-century-esque. ’Let’s divide up the world between the powers.'"
Given that the developers — Thomas & Hutton and Eagle Rock Partners, working on behalf of timber giant Weyerhaeuser — were willing to move this project to a poorer, Blacker area after opposition in Georgia, residents say this fight is about more than land. It is a test of who is asked to bear the risks of the data and AI boom, and what South Carolina is willing to sacrifice to power it.
“If a mostly white community can push back on this project and get it stopped, it’s unacceptable that the next move is to fly under the radar in a rural Black community with even less transparency,” [Paul] Black, [South Carolina resident & environmental activist,] added.
And if you're one of those people who unsubscribed to the Washington Post and the NY Times and doesn't know what to do with the subscription money, hey, subscribe to them! I've been following their work for two+ years now and it's top quality. They're the ones who broke the story about Patrick Braxton and Newbern Alabama.
'not all oil is burned. A lot is simply feedstock for the petrochemical industry to churn out plastics. And the industry has long seen plastics as its saviour from their nightmare world where electric cars crush oil demand'
Because the previous thread commenting on Trump's invasion of Venezuela has gotten so long, while hot-off-the-press commentary continues, I'm starting a new thread. My goal with these threads is to allow anyone interested to see pieces of commentary that seem valuable to me, and to link to the commentary itself.
This destabilizes both the rule of law and separation of powers at home and the global order, such as it is.
We must not lose sight of what the Trump Administration would love us to lose sight of: a wildly unpopular president doing his utmost to harm the people of this country and enrich himself, his family, and his cronies while in rapid mental and physical decline and in an ongoing panic over what the Epstein files could tell us about him.
"This is what happens when over 77 million Americans vote for such a lawless, reckless man, some 89 million choose to stay home, and John Roberts’ Supreme Court supermajority hands him near-total immunity."
What does a sustainable civilisation look like and how do we get there? A burgeoning movement of #artists and #activists is seeking answers.
by Joe Coroneo-Seaman, January 21, 2022
Excerpt: "The concept of solarpunk originally emerged in the late 2000s, when a handful of artists on the social media platform Tumblr began sharing drawings of futuristic green cities. Over time, the aesthetic and ethos evolved into a more robust vision for the world, and in the process has been embraced by other art forms. There are now published collections of solarpunk literature, subgenres of music, movements within architecture and even tabletop role-playing games [#RPGs].
"At the core of this vision is the idea that humans can coexist in harmony with the rest of nature. A solarpunk world is one where vast swathes of land have been returned to #wilderness, rooftop gardens dot the skylines of high-tech cities and vertical farms provide food to their residents.
"Increasingly, artists and writers in the solarpunk movement also describe a world that is just and safe for #MarginalisedGroups – especially those facing the brunt of the #climate and #ecological crisis today. '#BIPOC [#Black, #Indigenous and #PeopleOfColour] and #QueerPeople are safe in solarpunk futures,' says Brianna Castagnozzi, co-editor-in-chief of Solarpunk Magazine.
"Although it may seem utopian and idealistic, solarpunk attempts to answer real questions being asked more and more often in light of the unfolding climate and ecological crisis. What can be saved? What does a truly #sustainable civilisation look like? How do we get there?
"It may be a big ask, but it’s now clear that the scale of the environmental crises facing humanity demands #TransformationalChanges to the way we live, as well as the way we think. Art has the power to shape our attitudes, so perhaps it’s time – as Nigerian poet #BenOkri said recently – for artists of all kinds to 'dedicate our lives to nothing short of re-dreaming society'."
"Hundreds of Arctic rivers and streams are turning bright red-orange, not from chemical pollution, but from naturally occurring iron spilling from long-frozen ground as temperatures warm. The 'rusting rivers' phenomenon, which has been documented across the Brooks Range in northern Alaska, offers a vivid example of the effects of climate change in a region that is warming faster than the global average."
The orange tributary of the Kugororuk River in Alaska is an example of a "rusting river." These rivers are increasingly common in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska, the result of thawing permafrost. The orange color is caused by naturally occurring iron, but it can also indicate elevated levels of heavy metals.
New study warns #glaciers in European #Alps will hit their peak #extinction rate w/in 8 yrs w global glacier loss accelerating toward thousands per yr unless #emissions are rapidly cut. #Glaciers in western US, #Canada forecast to reach their peak yr of loss less than decade later w more than 800 disappearing each yr by then. About 200,000 glaciers remain worldwide with about 750 disappearing each year - accelerating rapidly due to #emissions from burning #fossilfuelshttps://phys.org/news/2025-12-alps-glaciers-decade.html