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Copper prices have hit record highs, but smelters face mounting strategic pressures
copper Copper markets enter uncharted territory as structural and short-term pressures converge Copper prices have surged to record highs this year, briefly exceeding USD 14 500 per tonne (intraday) in January 2026, having only passed USD 12 000 per tonne for the first time in December 2025. The unprecedented price levels have been driven by some important short-term developments, including supply disruptions at several major mines and a build-up of US copper inventories due to tariff uncertainty. But they have also been underpinned by some underlying factors, such as challenges in developing new copper mines and the…
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The Future of Electricity in the Middle East and North Africa Executive summary
A cornerstone of global energy supply and, increasingly, demand The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is at a pivotal moment in its energy journey. The region has long been a cornerstone of the global energy system. In 2024, it supplied over 30% of the world’s oil and nearly 20% of its natural gas. At the same time, it is emerging as a major centre of electricity demand growth, driven by a rapidly expanding population, urbanisation, rising living standards, and accelerating climate pressures. Between 2000 and 2024, electricity demand tripled – increasing by more than 1 000 terawatt-hours (TWh…
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Energy Efficiency Policy Toolkit Buildings
Introduction Buildings account for about 30% of final energy consumption globally and more than half of electricity consumption. Doubling the global annual energy intensity improvement by 2030 would require buildings to become more efficient rapidly. An integrated policy approach combining regulation, information and incentives is the most effective way to achieve this goal. Regulatory standards such as building energy codes are among the most effective policies to not only boost energy performance and reduce emissions, but also to improve occupants' health, comfort and productivity – while enhancing climate resilience and mitigating energy price fluctuations. Buildings built after a code is introduced can…
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Electricity 2026 Flexibility
Evolving generation and demand patterns reshape power system needs The Age of Electricity is underpinned by rising investments in new resources. These include growing converter-based variable solar PV and wind, battery storage systems, as well as spatially and temporally concentrated demand from EVs, heat pumps and large loads like data centres. Combined with the expansion and upgrade of transmission and distribution grids, substantial increases in the flexibility of power systems are required for secure and cost-effective integration of generation, load and storage technologies that characterise this new era.Last year’s report, Electricity 2025, focused on measures to…
- Executive summary
- Demand
- Supply
- Grids
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+ 4 pages
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What Next for the Global Car Industry Policy and strategic actions
Highlights As global electric car markets grow, countries that are home to car manufacturing operations are faced with the challenging task of ensuring that the industry retains its domestic footprint and international revenues, or even expands downstream to become a larger supplier of final products that add more value to the economy. Among other factors, uncertainty about the pace of electrification and the cost gap with Chinese production mean most countries face tough choices as they pursue near- and long-term strategies to boost industrial competitiveness.Where the car industry aims at pursuing electrification strategies, there are public and private…
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Southeast Asia Energy Outlook 2026 Executive summary
Southeast Asia is a very dynamic region that is set to be a major driver of global energy demand growth, but the Middle East conflict has provided a stark wake-up call for the region’s energy system. Southeast Asia accounts for 9% of the world’s population and 4% of its GDP, but nearly 20% of global energy demand growth to 2035 under today’s policy settings. The disruption in global fuel markets has exposed deep structural vulnerabilities linked to import dependence, limited diversification and concentrated supply routes. Before the crisis, around 60% of Southeast Asia’s imports of…
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Financing the Modernisation of Power Systems Beyond Coal Executive summary
The role of coal in power systems is evolving This report assesses the potential applications, limitations and relevance of transition credits in Southeast Asia. Coal is the largest source of power generation worldwide and the largest source of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. All Southeast Asian countries with coal in their power generation mix have adopted commitments to reduce coal-fired generation or emissions targets that imply a significant decline in coal consumption in the coming decades. To meet these targets, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has long emphasised that a range of strategies can be deployed to reduce coal…
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Global Energy Review 2025 Electricity
…with electricity consumption increasing by 230 TWh, led by growth in the United States. Strong demand for cooling, growth in the data centre sector and a pickup in industrial production were important factors behind this trend. The European Union’s electricity consumption grew by about 1.5% in 2024, compared with near-zero growth on average from 2003 to 2023. Other advanced economies, including Australia and Korea, also saw upticks in the pace of electricity demand growth.In India, the pace of electricity consumption growth slowed in 2024 compared with 2023, representing a normalisation after extremely unfavourable weather drove up demand…
- Key findings
- Global trends
- Oil
- Natural gas
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+ 3 pages
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Universal Access to Clean Cooking in Africa Executive summary
Clean cooking access is a defining challenge for Africa’s prosperity and social development The world has made immense progress in improving access to clean cooking facilities, but to date momentum has been slower in Africa. Today, 2 billion people worldwide – a quarter of the global population – still cook over open fires or on basic stoves, inhaling harmful smoke and spending hours in search of fuels such as firewood or animal waste. Since 2010, almost 1.5 billion people in Asia and Latin America gained access to modern cooking stoves and fuels, halving the number of people without clean cooking in…
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What Next for the Global Car Industry Global car industry manufacturing clusters
Regions with strong car industries tend to operate as clusters in which supplier factories are located alongside those of parts manufacturers and material producers. This is because close co-ordination between automakers and a wide network of specialised suppliers is essential to keep costs low. Such production ecosystems also facilitate the rapid exchange of complex, often tacit, knowledge, especially during vehicle development phases where design, engineering and manufacturing decisions must be tightly aligned. This interactive map shows global data on car assembly location, as well as more detailed regional automotive clusters.