World Bank: Arab, African Countries Among 'Best' in Developing Renewable Energy

World Bank: Arab, African Countries Among 'Best' in Developing Renewable Energy
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World Bank: Arab, African Countries Among 'Best' in Developing Renewable Energy

World Bank: Arab, African Countries Among 'Best' in Developing Renewable Energy

The World Bank has recently released a report, titled Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy (RISE) 2018, in which it warned that the world, as a whole, is only about half way towards the adoption of advanced policy frameworks for sustainable energy.

This puts at risk the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal on Energy (SDG7) by 2030 and hinders progress towards the goal of keeping the rise in global temperatures to well below two degrees.

It follows the previous methodology of classifying countries into a green zone of strong performers in the top third, a yellow zone of middling performers, and a red zone of weaker performers in the bottom third.

The latest edition of RISE found that in the last decade the number of countries with strong policy frameworks for sustainable energy has more than tripled since 2010, with a dramatic increase in the uptake of renewable energy and energy efficiency targets.

It showed that from 2010 till 2017, the number of countries with strong policy frameworks for sustainable energy more than tripled from 17 to 59.

Strong performance in renewable energy policies has been distributed across all regions of the world and among different income groups.

The report said that the five countries that made the most progress in their policies in recent years and are from outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) including: the Ivory Coast, UAE, Rwanda, Jordan and Egypt. It also found that the world has seen a huge uptake in sustainable energy policies.

According to the report, it was noted that when the government is concerned with energy policies progress is achieved quickly.

Among the 133 countries in the index, countries where governments are concerned with sustainable energy sources made progress in RISE indicator by more than four percentage points, twice the average of the annual global growth rate.

Countries that have increased their electricity access rates the most since 2010 have also shown a concurrent improvement in electricity access policies. In countries with an electricity access deficit, policymakers are increasingly turning their attention to off-grid solutions to close the gap, the report explained.

This is illustrated by the soaring share of low-access countries adopting measures to support mini-grids and solar home systems from around 15 percent in 2010 to 70 percent in 2017.

In countries that have made progress on sustainable policies, the deteriorating fiscal position of national utilities is putting progress at risk.

Among countries with low access to energy, the number of utilities meeting basic creditworthiness criteria dropped from 63 percent in 2012 to 37 percent in 2016, the report said.



Oil Slips as Iran-Israel Conflict Enters Sixth Day

FILE PHOTO: A view shows an oil pump jack outside Almetyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, June 4, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view shows an oil pump jack outside Almetyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, June 4, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
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Oil Slips as Iran-Israel Conflict Enters Sixth Day

FILE PHOTO: A view shows an oil pump jack outside Almetyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, June 4, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view shows an oil pump jack outside Almetyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, June 4, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, after a gain of 4% in the previous session, as markets weighed up the chance of supply disruptions from the Iran-Israel conflict and as they ponder a direct US involvement.

Brent crude futures fell 93 cents, or 1.2%, to $75.52 a barrel by 0918 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 88 cents, also 1.2%, to $73.96 per barrel.

US President Trump warned on social media on Tuesday that US patience was wearing thin, and called for an "unconditional surrender" from Iran.

While he said there was no intention to kill Iran's leader Ali Khamenei "for now," his comments suggested a tougher stance toward Iran as he weighs whether to deepen US involvement.

A source familiar with internal discussions said one of the options Trump and his team are considering included joining Israel on strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.

A direct US involvement threatens to widen the confrontation further, putting energy infrastructure in the region at higher risk of attack, analysts say.

"The biggest fear for the oil market is the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz," ING analysts said in a note.

"Almost a third of global seaborne oil trade moves through this chokepoint. A significant disruption to these flows would be enough to push prices to $120 [a barrel]," the bank added.

Iran is OPEC's third-largest producer, extracting about 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil.

Meanwhile, Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Ali Bahreini said on Wednesday that Tehran has conveyed to Washington that it will respond firmly to the United States if it becomes directly involved in Israel's military campaign.

Markets are also looking ahead to a second day of US Federal Reserve discussions on Wednesday, in which the central bank is expected to leave its benchmark overnight interest rate in the range of 4.25% to 4.50%.

However, the conflict in the Middle East and the risk of slowing global growth could potentially push the Fed to cut rates by 25 basis points in July, sooner than the market's current expectation of September, said Tony Sycamore, market analyst with IG.

Lower interest rates generally boost economic growth and demand for oil.

Confounding the decision for the Fed, however, is the Middle East conflict's potential creation of a new source of inflation via surging oil prices.

US crude stocks fell by 10.1 million barrels in the week ended June 13, market sources told Reuters, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Official Energy Information Administration data is due later on Wednesday.