The International Energy Agency (IEA) says that countries could release more oil reserves “as and if needed”, reports Reuters. It quotes the IEA’s executive director Fatih Birol saying that countries “still have a lot of stocks left” after agreeing to the largest-ever release of oil reserves last week. Bloomberg notes that that emergency release “will only reduce the IEA’s reserves by 20%”. The Guardian adds: “Birol warned that although the emergency reserves would provide a buffer for now, it was vital to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to allow Gulf oil and gas to reach the global market.” 

Oil prices rose more than 2% yesterday, reports Reuters, while another Reuters article says that “the body that advises the world’s central banks has urged policymakers not to rush ​reactions to the Iran crisis-driven spike in global energy prices”. The US-Israel war on Iran is “pushing parts of the world into energy triage, forcing governments to choose where to cut demand or absorb costs, while prioritising dwindling supplies”, says the Associated Press. The EU is considering various measures to temper energy cost rises, which were outlined in a letter by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to heads of government before a meeting later this week, reports Bloomberg.  

A separate Bloomberg article reports: “Pakistan’s rapid adoption of solar power in the past few years is helping cushion the impact of a surge in fossil fuel prices due to the Middle East war.” It cites analysis by Renewables First and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air showing that the country will save at least $6.3bn in 2026 by using solar power instead of importing expensive oil and gas. 

MORE ON ENERGY 

• Bloomberg reports that the prime minister of Ethiopia has asked citizens to “be frugal in their use of fuel”. In Sri Lanka, every Wednesday has been declared a holiday for public institutions in an effort to conserve fuel, reports BBC News. 
• Reuters says that the president of the Philippines may “suspend ⁠the collection ​of fuel ​taxes in response to rising oil ​prices”. 
• Cuba yesterday faced an “islandwide blackout” due to the ongoing “US energy blockade” on the country, reports the Associated Press. 
• India is anticipating a “surge in peak power demand to a record during the hot season”, reports Bloomberg, citing “people familiar with the matter”. 
• Reuters reports: “India may soften new grid-supply rules for renewable power producers.”
• Spain has warned the EU against suspending the bloc’s emissions trading system to try and ease energy prices, reports the Financial Times.

The Guardian covers analysis of satellite data revealing the “world’s worst mega-leaks of the potent greenhouse gas methane in 2025”. The newspaper says leaks of methane – the second-biggest contributor to global warming, behind carbon dioxide – from oil and gas facilities “often result from poor maintenance and can be simple to fix”. It adds: “The assessment found dozens of mega-leaks, each having the same global heating impact as a coal-fired power station.” The Guardian says the researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles found leaks all over the world, but many were located in Turkmenistan. The newspaper adds: “The researchers said it was ‘maddening’ that such easy action to fight the climate crisis was not being taken, and said people should be angry.”

Sky News reports that UK prime minister Keir Starmer announced £53m in support for “low-income households in rural communities reliant on heating oil”. The broadcaster says that heating oil – which is not included under the government’s energy price cap – is used by 6% of homes in the UK, but nearly two-thirds of homes in Northern Ireland. The first minister of Northern Ireland – and Sinn Féin politician – Michelle O’Neill, called the support a “slap in the face” that “doesn’t scratch the surface”, reports the Press Association. Reuters says the government also announced “stronger ​consumer protections ​in the ⁠heating oil market and providing support to the competition watchdog to conduct ​a more comprehensive examination of the ​industry”.

Elsewhere, BusinessGreen reports on analysis which finds that “energy bills can be reduced far more by transitioning to a renewable power system than by maximising North Sea fossil fuel production”. The outlet adds that the study authors say it is “sheer fantasy” to say otherwise. Experts tell the Times that “fuel rationing [is] looming unless Hormuz supply resumes”. The Daily Telegraph reports that the UK Treasury could receive an extra £3bn in tax revenue from the North Sea if oil and gas price rises continue. The Guardian looks at how the fossil-fuel price spike caused by the war is impacting energy-intensive industries in the UK and Europe. 

MORE ON UK 

• The Times: “UK funded carbon capture in Xinjiang during Uighur ‘genocide’.” 
• The Daily Express reports on a campaign against a pipeline being planned in the Peak District in England to support a carbon capture initiative in Derbyshire.
• The Times explains why the cost of gas “still sets the price” of electricity in the UK. [See Carbon Brief’s Q&A for more.]

Brazil has updated its national climate plan for the first time since 2008, reports Bloomberg. The outlet says the plan runs up to 2035 and “restates its earlier emphasis on ending deforestation as the main strategy to reduce emissions”. Bloomberg notes: “Unlike in most countries, the main source of carbon pollution in Brazil is land-use change that results in forest loss, largely in the Amazon region.” The outlet adds that Climate Observatory, a network of environmental groups, “praised the plan for involving many government ministries and addressing cross-cutting priorities but said it didn’t show enough ambition to transition away from fossil fuels”.

China will launch a pilot program to bring hydrogen prices below 25 yuan ($3.6) per kilogram by 2030 and expand its use across more sectors, reports Bloomberg, citing a notice issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments. China also aims to have 100,000 fuel-cell vehicles nationwide by 2030, double the 2025 level, according to state news agency Xinhua, citing the new policy. China Electric Power News has the full text of the document. Meanwhile, China’s new “five-year plan” calls for improving “green hydrogen” production equipment and accelerating “economically viable and safe” large-scale hydrogen storage and transportation, according to energy news outlet International Energy Net. It says the plan also encourages extending the green hydrogen industry chain into green ammonia and methanol. An article by state-run newspaper China Daily says that hydrogen is regarded as “one of the clean-energy sources with the greatest development potential in the 21st century”.

MORE ON CHINA

• Jiemian covers the final version of China’s 15th five-year plan, saying clean energy has taken “centre stage”.
• In January and February, China’s thermal power generation grew 3.3% year-on-year, while solar grew 9.9%, reports BJX News.
• Fixed‑asset investments by State Grid, China’s main grid operator, grew 81% in January and February, reports Bloomberg.
• Bloomberg also says China’s two largest grid operators have issued $13.5bn in domestic bonds so far this year.
• President Xi Jinping writes in Qiushi calling for “orderly development” of offshore wind. Xi also calls for advancing “marine” oil and gas in the article, according to International Energy Net.
• China’s MEE will implement “full-chain management” of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), reports Science and Technology Daily.

Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff writes on the UK government’s action on heating oil price rises, saying: “In a volatile world where shocks just seem to keep on coming, can we really afford to pour millions into subsidising bills every time some big fossil-fuel producer yanks our chain? Or is the money better spent going further and faster on net-zero, incentivising people to switch to electric cars and heat pumps so that petrostates no longer have us over a barrel?” Pointing to Climate Change Committee analysis, Hinsliff says that a net-zero economy would be far better insulated against future fossil-fuel price shocks. However, she says that the changes needed to get there are “an infinitely harder sell than offering [households] free money off the gas bill” in the middle of a crisis. She questions whether prime minister Keir Starmer “want[s] to prioritise resilience now, cushioning people through frightening times, or the resilience for the future that comes from doubling down on net-zero”. 

Also in the UK, deputy business editor of the Times, Tracey Boles, writes that “decoupling from gas and faster deployment of renewables have become vital as rising electricity prices threaten British industry amid the Iran conflict”. Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry, writes in the Times that the government must “seize the opportunity to make our economy more resilient and competitive” with measures including “fast-tracking renewable energy” and “cutting policy costs from companies’ bills”.

Elsewhere, Tara Singh, the chief executive of RenewableUK who previously worked at Shell and as an energy and environment adviser to former prime minister David Cameron, writes in the Daily Telegraph in support of “continued domestic oil and gas production in the North Sea”. However, she adds: “But being serious about the UK’s important role in gas also means being honest about its limitations…The North Sea is a mature basin, not a limitless national asset…Nor should politicians imply that more domestic drilling will somehow bring back cheap energy. It will not.” The Daily Telegraph covers the comments in a news article headlined: “Wind industry chief urges Miliband to restart North Sea drilling.” The Sun carries a second editorial supporting North Sea drilling and citing Singh’s comments.

Meanwhile, a Sun editorial mentions drilling in the North Sea and says Starmer “must end handouts” that support bills. A Daily Mail editorial says that extra subsidies will be “welcomed by those who benefit” but are “no substitute for a long-term strategy to keep energy costs down”. Conservative shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho writes in the Daily Express: “In what world does it make sense to shut down our own gas production in the North Sea.” Diana Furchtgott-Roth from the Energy Policy Research Foundation and formerly the Heritage Foundation says in the Daily Telegraph that “Britain faces an energy catastrophe and Ed Miliband doesn’t care”.

MORE COMMENT 

• Bloomberg Opinion editor and columnist Mark Gongloff writes that the problems  facing the Colorado River in the US from climate change and other issues are “about to get deeper”. 
• Hannah Ritchie from Our World In Data writes in her Substack newsletter, By the Numbers: “Will Africa still be energy-poor in 2050?” 
• Financial Times Ireland correspondent, Jude Webber, looks at “what the world can learn from Ireland’s battle to power data centres”.
• Sonia Dunlop, chief executive of the Global Solar Council, writes in Sustainable Views that “solar is key to countries achieving energy sovereignty”.

This edition of the Daily Briefing was written by Orla Dwyer, with contributions from Henry Zhang and Anika Patel. It was edited by Simon Evans.

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