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Opinion / #oil
Food & Agriculture
Securing Asean’s food resilience amid the Middle East conflict
The Middle East conflict is set to have a double-whammy impact on both Asean’s import of fertilisers, and its energy-intensive fertiliser production. The timing is critical as in the coming months, the five major crops, including rice, are being planted in Asean.
While the rest of the world is mainly concerned about the energy disruptions caused by the Iran war, the Gulf countries are more anxious about the Islamic Republic’s threats to their desalination facilities. If the US attempts to seize Kharg Island, it could spell disaster for the region's "saltwater kingdoms."
Iran’s wider goal is to raise global energy prices, including those for Gulf oil-dependent Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines and Vietnam.
If the current war creates a prolonged oil crisis, there will be more downward pressure on oil use – and an equal acceleration in China of electric car production at home, with an associated surge in exports.
All #oil Opinion
11 March 2026
13 November 2025
Carbon & Climate
From Rio to Belém: The long unravelling of climate consensus
3 October 2025
30 September 2025
18 September 2025
Carbon & Climate
Why the climate crisis must reshape how we think about war
19 June 2025
Policy & Finance
Fossil fuel adverts are today’s tobacco. Cities must ban them
16 June 2025
9 May 2025
14 February 2025
Policy & Finance
Trump’s second term is not the end of ESG, but a crossroads moment
13 February 2025
10 February 2025
Manufacturing
Fast fashion has a serious coal problem
13 December 2024
Policy & Finance
Companies are not ditching net zero – they are refining goals
10 December 2024
29 October 2024
Carbon & Climate
Why COP29 should not be ignored
5 September 2024
Policy & Finance
Climate impacts are crippling insurance and Big Oil must pay up
28 August 2024
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