How is the Middle East war going to change the energy strategies of many countries? 

Global powers have long relied upon the threat of cutting off fossil energy flows – or the revenues from selling them – to discipline and coerce other countries. The US has done this for decades with oil. Five of the seven countries attacked by the US under the second Trump administration are rich in oil. But the emergence of cheap clean energy tech and electrification complicates the picture. What can history tell us about the motivations of the US around geopolitical dominance and energy? 

Even among the chaos of the current US administration, a desire to perpetuate a globally traded fossil fuel system persists. Oil-producing nations that depend on selling the stuff overseas face existential threats from the energy transition; but the US administration wants to keep oil use high so that it can exert global power. 

Guests: 

Helen Thompson - Professor of political economy, Cambridge University; former co-host of the London Review of Books’ “Talking Politics” podcast

Alex Turnbull - Managing director, Sagax Capital; energy researcher, commodities and energy trader

Hosted by energy and climate finance expert Kate MacKenzie, and Tim Sahay from the net zero industrial policy lab at Johns Hopkins University. They co-author The Polycrisis newsletter, which explores connections between energy, geopolitics, climate change, finance and industry. 

• Produced by Sarah Allely
• Original music by Russell Stapleton
• Mixed by Bethany Stewart

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