Managing natural resources

From the local impact of data centres to risks in the global supply chain, water use for AI threatens to exacerbate existing stress on water resources.

Risks emerging from shared infrastructure and data security are areas where UK registered companies need better guidance.

Speaking at Chatham House, Dr Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, said Strait of Hormuz closures and rising summer demand could push oil markets into a ‘red zone’.

Anna and Bhargabi speak with Robin Mills (Qamar Energy), Jessica Obeid (New Energy Consult) and Neil Quilliam about how the countries around the Gulf are approaching – and may be impacted by – the energy transition.

The current crisis shows that Europe must transition to renewables to reduce its dependency on volatile fossil fuels. This week’s AccelerateEU plan rightly reaffirms that goal.

Senior Research Fellow for China and the World James Kynge provided evidence on 22 April.

Anna and Bhargabi are joined by Professor Paul Stevens to discuss how oil and gas have shaped the politics, economies and geopolitical influence of the countries in the region.

Water cooperation is not only mutually beneficial for India and Pakistan, but essential. Restoring the Indus Waters Treaty could be a powerful foundation for rebuilding trust.

Anna and Bhargabi are joined by three experts to explore the links between climate change, energy and geopolitics.

As the Iran war pushes energy costs to the front of everyone’s mind, Bronwen Maddox and Sir Dieter Helm discuss what the UK government should do.

Christian-Géraud Neema and Joshua Walker discuss how the short and long-term implications of the DRC’s pivot to the US are affecting its strategic autonomy, mining sovereignty, and what it means for President Tshisekedi’s political options.

To establish some measure of control of minerals supply, market-oriented governments are starting to directly invest in mining projects. Governments that don’t are placing their manufacturing sectors, energy security, and national defence at risk.

Anna speaks to James Kynge and Lauri Myllyvirta (CREA) about what the plan reveals about China’s climate and clean tech ambitions, as well as it’s broader geopolitical goals.

Rare earth elements are essential for the green transition but the accelerating geopolitical race to reduce dependence on China carries great environmental risks.

Anna speaks to Dr Isaac Kardon (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) and Meredith Schwartz (Centre for Strategic and International Studies) about how the race to source critical raw materials from the ocean floor is impacting geopolitics.

The 2026 UN Water Conference can still have a big impact this year – if it can discuss water action as critical to human wellbeing and economic activity and focus on pragmatic solutions.

Photographer Tommy Trenchard tells Iona Allan about his journey along the 800-mile Lobito Railway and how a multi billion-dollar investment by the US and European interests is heating up a global race to secure supplies of copper, cobalt and other resources needed for the green energy transition.

The government’s ambitions are welcome, but require dedicated leadership and international support in order to succeed. 

Beijing’s dominance over supply chains will continue. But new US deals with Australia and across the region show rhetoric is now being matched by finance, aiming to take the sting out of any future export restrictions.

The major new initiative will study the key geopolitical, economic, and sustainability dynamics shaping global mineral supply chains.

China’s new rare earth export controls should galvanize the West to build resilience against China’s growing dominance in global manufacturing and its control over crucial supply chains.

The UK should coordinate with European partners and local communities to prioritize environmental safeguards while pursuing its strategic supply chain goals.

Anna and Bhargabi speak to Mauricio Voivodic, Executive Director of WWF-Brazil, and Edward Davey, Head of the UK Office of the World Resources Institute, about how COP30 can advance the forest agenda.

The soaring value of gold has led to rampant Illegal mining, mercury poisoning and murders by criminal gangs. Is the government losing control of this precious metal, asks Dan Collyns.

We are on the verge of crossing the threshold set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. David Gunn and Matthew Harris explore the ideas that may help us navigate a world of more frequent and severe climate shocks.

Unpacking the key issues at the COP30 climate change conference in Belém, Brazil.

Scarcity of water is not only a national crisis for Iraq, but a growing driver of internal tension.

The crucial conference in France comes after Trump ordered the US to pursue deep-sea mining with potentially damaging consequences. A moratorium is needed.

The event explored how to ensure positive, secure resource governance in Africa. 

Interview: Ahmed Soliman tells Sara Seth how the United Arab Emirates and other regional powers are benefitting from Sudan’s illicit, cross-border gold trade and how that might be stopped.

With global freshwater supplies under increasing pressure, understanding and addressing the direct and indirect water use associated with food and agricultural trade is emerging as a critical sustainability challenge.

Intensifying climate and geopolitical disruptions are combining to create significant and unforeseen effects on food security globally. Multi-hazard early-warning systems have a critical role to play in addressing these issues through enhanced monitoring and closer cooperation with at-risk communities.

The trade of gold is perpetuating Sudan’s civil war and connecting the conflict to the wider region. Consequently, external actors that benefit from the gold sector could hold the key to a sustainable peace.

Peru has the potential to play a major role in supply chains for the global energy transition. But its fractured politics is holding it back. Broad-based, inclusive dialogues between government, civil society and private sector interests are essential to build a more equitable and sustainable mining economy.

Sustainable bioeconomies can play a significant role in the climate transition and in protecting nature, but this will only be possible with more strategic coordination on innovation, investment and international policy.

Amid concern about lack of progress on the SDGs, an opportunity is emerging to put the ‘circular economy’ at the heart of international action on everything from tackling climate change to reducing poverty.

As climate change and the trade of water-intensive goods exacerbate global water scarcity, how can importers of commodity products improve the sustainable use of water at sites of production?

Competing demands for land will increasingly complicate resource security and climate action, threatening international and environmental stability. This report explores the pressures, and sets out how the risks can be mitigated.

Cutting aviation carbon emissions is vital for achieving net zero, but near-term, scalable decarbonization options are limited. This paper explores the possibility of reducing demand for flights to help keep the sector on track for net zero.

The war is making the challenges of climate change harder to overcome, both in Ukraine and worldwide.

By putting in place climate change adaptation measures, NATO has an opportunity to both strengthen operational resilience and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Public facilities are key to managing human displacement crises. With strained resources, sustainable upgrades to buildings can enable states to meet multiple welfare objectives.

Integrating nature-based solutions into the forest bioeconomy can help address the funding gap for these activities by tapping into existing flows of sustainable finance.

Zambia’s recent approach to international relations has boosted the country’s prominence, but further domestic focus is needed to make this a sustainable policy shift.

While current food systems hinder efforts towards climate and biodiversity goals, a transformation in the way food is produced could enable progress on these crises this decade.

From the international through to the local level, inclusive approaches are needed to ensure effective governance of forests and promote the sustainable use of land.

What might a transformed, healthy and sustainable global food system look like? Two contrasting models of sustainability show the options for targeting policy and investment.

While the war in Ukraine is having significant global impacts for energy, food and fertilizer markets, it may also aggravate wider economic and social upheaval.

This paper examines the collection and disbursement of forest sector revenues in three African countries following efforts to improve transparency and accountability.

Venezuela’s recovery from economic collapse and the future prosperity of its citizens depend on the reconstruction of its crisis-ridden electricity system.

Mozambique’s government has an opportunity to redress human rights failings and help establish durable security relationships in the vital extractives sector.

Analysing a crucial opportunity for enhancing ambitions on climate finance, adaptation, and ‘loss and damage’, and the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The international community must partner effectively with Brazilian stakeholders to conserve the Amazonian forest and foster sustainable economic development.

In the near term, climate change adaptation efforts must prioritize tackling socio-economic vulnerabilities in the most at-risk regions. Failure to act will worsen climate impacts across the world.

The use of forest biomass for energy is growing rapidly, but existing EU and UK policies ignore its contribution to increased carbon emissions.

An ambitious outcome at COP26 is critical to avoiding the most extreme impacts of climate change.

With climate action increasingly reliant on unproven carbon removal options, such as BECCS, there is a clear risk of policies developing without a robust scientific basis.

This paper examines broad legal and institutional reform proposals for Venezuela’s oil and gas sector, and five countries it competes with in global markets.

In a critical year for climate change and environmental diplomacy, 2021 has the potential to be the start of a global green recovery.

Global food production is the key driver of accelerating biodiversity loss. This paper introduces three levers for reducing pressures on land and creating a more sustainable food system.