Climate change risk hits oil market
The Hindu
climate change risk is increasingly influencing oil prices, just as the world is struggling to shift away from high-polluting fossil fuels.
From forest fires to hurricanes and other natural disasters: climate change risk is increasingly influencing oil prices, just as the world is struggling to shift away from high-polluting fossil fuels.
Hurricane Beryl became the latest weather phenomenon to jangle market nerves, boosting crude prices as it passed through Texas earlier this month.
Texas accounts for some 42% of total US crude oil production, according to Energy Information Administration data. It also possesses the largest number of crude oil refineries among US states.
"Almost half of the total US petroleum refining capacity is located along the Gulf, with Texas accounting for one-third of total US refining capacity," Exinity analyst Han Tan told AFP.
And industry experts fear Beryl could herald a "super charged" hurricane season this year, according to Tan.
The World Meteorological Organization has warned that Beryl's early formation and swift intensification could foreshadow similarly severe storms in the future.
Earlier this year meanwhile, oil market sentiment was jarred in May as forest fires broke out in Canada.
What began as a routine one-week mission for astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule quickly escalated into an unexpected eight-month stay in space. After a successful launch in June 2024, their mission faced multiple technical failures, including thruster malfunctions and helium leaks, making it too risky to return using the Starliner. NASA’s solution? Delay their return until early 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule. Despite the extended mission, Williams and Wilmore remained resilient, continuing their work on the ISS as NASA worked to resolve the situation.
The story of the first-of-its-kind collaboration between award-winning Indian couturier Rahul Mishra and Italy’s multimillion-dollar fashion house Tod’s goes back to 2017 when their paths crossed in Paris. The latter reached out to Rahul — who had created waves in the industry with his couture edits at platforms like Paris Fashion Week — for a limited-edition handcrafted capsule of bags and shoes, which provoked his fiercely creative mind to take up the challenge. Made with absolute luxury of time and embroidered with intricate details, the Rahul Mishra X Tod’s has been launched today, during London Fashion Week, at Tod’s Bond Street Boutique.