Day: November 3, 2021

Spain faces a fresh energy crisis after Algeria shut off supplies of natural gas through one of the two pipelines linking Spain with the North African state.

Like many other European countries, Spain has been hit hard by soaring electricity prices in recent months.

A surge in demand as the world’s economies began to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic has not been matched by supply, sending prices climbing.

Households have been hit by electricity prices which rose more than 40% in the past year, prompting the Spanish government to bring in emergency measures to reduce bills.

Now the fresh crisis over natural gas supplies from their North African neighbors has added to tensions in the energy market for Spain.

Algeria closed a land pipeline Sunday after a diplomatic dispute with its neighbor Morocco, through which the pipeline passes.

Algiers agreed to keep open a second pipeline which passes under the Mediterranean to Spain, but this does not supply as much natural gas as the land pipeline through Morocco.

Without any natural energy source except the burgeoning renewables market, Spain depends on Algeria for its natural gas supply.

Spain’s geographic isolation in western Europe and lack of any domestic source of energy has left it especially vulnerable.

The Spanish media have reported that the country could face possible blackouts because of energy shortages.

El Pais, a Spanish-language daily newspaper, reported Tuesday that Spain would have to deliver liquified natural gas, or LNG, supplies by ship which could prove costly as other countries are competing for the same supplies because of a world shortage of the energy source.

Spain’s government sought to cool fears over a possible energy shortage.

During an interview Tuesday on state broadcaster TVE, Spain’s environment minister, Teresa Ribera, said the country has accumulated natural gas reserves equivalent to 43 days of consumption.

She added that Algeria agreed to supply more gas to Spain if the latter needed it.

Enagas, a Spanish company which owns and operates the country’s energy grid and is one of the biggest LNG transporters in western Europe, said in a statement, “There are no objective signs of a situation of lack of gas supplies in the coming months.”

Algeria said it was planning to stop shipments through the Gaz-Maghreb-Europe pipeline which traverses Morocco and carries about 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year.

Algiers took this step after cutting diplomatic ties with Morocco in August and accusing its leadership of taking “hostile actions.” Algeria further accused Morocco of aiding the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie, a regional nationalist movement in Algeria, of starting a series of fires which ravaged the country, an accusation which Morocco denied.

Algeria’s decision to shut off a pipeline comes as natural gas prices have soared in recent months across Europe because of a shortage of supplies from Russia, pushing up electricity bills for consumers.

Spain hopes that it can weather the storm by using deliveries of natural gas from the Medgaz pipeline which passes under the Mediterranean directly from Algeria to Spain.

This line carries about eight billion cubic meters per year of gas but planned works could see its capacity rise to 10.5 billion cubic meters per year by January.

Algeria also proposes increasing LNG deliveries by sea.

Analysts said that events in North Africa did not help a difficult situation in the world energy market as supplies to Europe were restricted by Russia, the continent’s most important supplier of natural gas.

“The most important factor is Russia because it is restricting supply. Demand is going up because economies are recuperating but supply is not rising because the primary supplier for Europe is Russia,” Massimo Maoret, associate professor of strategic management at IESE business school in Madrid, told VOA.

“On top of that you have the situation in Algeria which is creating more uncertainty. Algeria has promised that supply will be ensured. It is an additional strain on dynamics which are building on global tensions.”

Political pressure has mounted on the Spanish government after electricity prices for consumers rose 44% over the past year, according to data from the National Institute for Statistics.

Professor Maoret said a harsh winter may exacerbate problems if demand increases.

Jorge Sanz, an analyst at Nera Economic Consulting, said supply was not in doubt so government reassurances were well founded. He did say prices may rise and could possibly affect consumers.

“The Medgaz pipeline will be expanded by New Year to ensure it carries 10.5 bcm (billion cubic meters), the same as the line which passes through Morocco. It is a temporary shortfall which can be covered by reserves,” he told VOA.

“However, what is in doubt is the price of natural gas which could go up — or it could go down — and this could be passed onto the electricity prices for consumers.”

Source: Voice of America

Here’s a look at what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top diplomats have been doing this week:

Ethiopia

The U.S. State Department raised the travel advisory for Ethiopia to Level 4 on Tuesday, asking Americans not to travel to the country because of “armed conflict, civil unrest, communications disruptions, crime, and the potential for terrorism and kidnapping in border areas.” It came as the Ethiopian federal government declared a nationwide state of emergency Tuesday as its battle with Tigrayan forces reached the one-year mark and fighting had escalated in northern Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Feltman, the U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, will travel to Ethiopia on Thursday and Friday. The State Department said the U.S. was increasingly troubled by the expansion of combat operations and intercommunal violence in Ethiopia and was closely monitoring the situation, calling on all Ethiopians to commit to peace and resolution of grievances through dialogue.

Ethiopian Government Declares State of Emergency

Spyware

The United States has added four foreign technology companies to its restricted-companies list, saying that they “developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments” and that the spyware was used “to maliciously target government officials, journalists, businesspeople, activists, academics, and embassy workers.” The State Department accused the companies of “engaging in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.”

US Blacklists Four Foreign Companies for ‘Malicious Cyber Activities’

Sudan

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he admired the millions of Sudanese who protested peacefully to express their aspirations for a democratic Sudan on Saturday. Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official said that the Sudanese military exercised restraint during Saturday’s demonstrations and that the restraint raised the possibility of the country’s return to a power-sharing agreement.

Sudan’s Military Showed Restraint During Anti-Coup Protests, US Special Envoy Says

China

Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as part of the Group of 20 summit on Sunday — an outreach designed to ensure that the intensely competitive relationship between the world’s two largest economies doesn’t veer into open conflicts.

Blinken Raises Concerns about Taiwan with China

The State Department said Blinken affirmed the areas where the U.S. and China can work together, including North Korea, Myanmar, Iran, Afghanistan and the climate crisis, while raising concerns about a range of Chinese actions that undermine the international rules-based order, including those related to human rights, Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, the East and South China seas, and Taiwan.

Afghanistan

U.S. officials have confirmed that a newly formed armed group resisting Taliban rule in Afghanistan has registered with the Justice Department to carry out political lobbying in the United States. A State Department spokesperson said over the weekend that U.S. officials “are aware that an entity calling itself ‘The National Resistance Front’ registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act on October 26.”

Anti-Taliban Group Registers with US to Try to Build Afghan Resistance

Iran

The State Department confirmed Wednesday that the next round of Iran nuclear talks will resume November 29. U.S. Special Envoy Robert Malley will lead U.S. participation in these talks. Spokesperson Ned Price said if all parties are to close the remaining areas of disagreement, the talks “should start precisely where the sixth round of talks were left off.”

Leaders of the U.S., Germany, France, and the United Kingdom warned Tehran that its continued nuclear advances and obstacles to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s work will jeopardize its return to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.

At G-20, US, Europe Urge Iran to Return to JCPOA Compliance

Meanwhile, the U.S. sanctioned individuals and companies allegedly associated with a network of companies linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Friday. Blinken said in a tweet that the U.S. is “firmly committed to countering all of Iran’s threatening activity and those who support it.”

US Sanctions Individuals, Firms for Supporting Iran’s Drone Program

Source: Voice of America

African nations at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, have criticized rich countries for failing to meet their promise of giving billions of dollars to help them cope with climate change.

The world’s wealthiest nations — the G-20 — account for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions. However, scientists say poorer countries, particularly in Africa, are suffering the worst effects of climate change.

Rich nations pledged in 2009 to give developing countries $100 billion a year to help them deal with climate change, but the target date was pushed back to 2023 at the beginning of the COP26 summit.

Speaking at the conference Tuesday, African leaders voiced their anger. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the president of Ghana, said Africans were “naturally disappointed.”

“Those same nations are, however, insisting that we abandon the opportunity for rapid development of our economies. That would be tantamount to enshrining in the global community inequality of the highest order,” Akufo-Addo told delegates.

Surangel Whipps Jr., president of the Pacific island state of Palau, was equally scathing.

“Frankly speaking, there is no dignity to a slow and painful death,” he said. “You might as well bomb our islands instead of making us suffer, only to witness our slow and fateful demise. Leaders of the G-20, we are drowning, and our only hope is the life ring you are holding.”

Their appeals failed to shift the timetable. But the frustration was tempered by progress on other vital climate emergencies.

More than 100 world leaders agreed to end deforestation by 2030, backed by close to $20 billion in public and private funding. They include Brazil’s president, who is not attending the summit. He addressed delegates by video link.

“We are committed to eliminating illegal deforestation by 2030. I call on every country to help defend all forests, including with adequate resources for the benefit for all,” he said.

Deforestation has increased in the Amazon under Bolsonaro to its highest level in a decade. Chief Ninawa, a Brazilian Indigenous leader attending the COP26 summit, was skeptical of Bolsonaro’s pledge.

“It won’t solve the social problems in our communities, where there is no water, where there is deforestation, where there is river contamination. These are investments that will only give free rein to companies to keep their polluting,” Ninawa told Reuters.

More than 100 countries also signed a U.S.-European led Global Methane Pledge to cut emissions by 30% by 2030. Methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in driving global warming, said Steve Hamburg, chief scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund.

“It’s incredibly important progress in addressing the climate crisis because we can now think about methane emissions separately from CO2. And recognizing that reduction of methane represents an enormous lever for making progress in reducing the rate of warming,” Hamburg told VOA at the summit.

China and Russia — two of the world’s biggest methane emitters — did not sign the methane pledge.

The absence of the Chinese, Russian and Brazilian presidents has led to questions about how effective the summit will be in curbing global warming. The host, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said Tuesday he was “cautiously optimistic.”

While there may be no big breakthrough on reducing overall emissions at COP26, organizers say the smaller, targeted agreements on protecting rainforests, cutting methane and helping vulnerable island states add up to significant progress in tackling climate change.

World leaders have returned home. Their teams of negotiators will now decide the fate of the summit — and, many scientists say, the future of planet Earth.

Source: Voice of America