IBA Global Insight – the clean energy transition
Tuesday 21 April 2026
With global fuel and energy prices soaring as a consequence of the war in the Middle East, the need to decarbonise is growing ever more urgent. Below, we’ve selected some of the best of Global Insight's continuing coverage of these and related issues.
News analysis: War in Middle East highlights urgency of fossil fuel phase-out
War in the Middle East has caused a fuel crisis and made the need to decarbonise even more urgent. Not long after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran – and Tehran responded – UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an acceleration of the transition to renewables.
Read here...
Feature: Asia leads the way on clean energy transition
With China investing heavily and India actively promoting renewables, the two countries are at the forefront of the clean energy transition. India, for example, has been working to diversify the fuels it uses to generate power by promoting investment in renewables and nuclear.
Read here...
Feature: What’s stopping the clean energy transition
The stated aim of many governments is to transition away from fossil fuels in line with the Paris Agreement. But a deluge of investor-state arbitration claims under the Energy Charter Treaty – a binding international agreement signed in 1994 – risks frustrating these aims, as this feature reports.
Read here...
Column: Realising Africa’s climate potential
The African Union and the EU placed climate at the heart of a joint statement following their seventh triennial summit in 2025. It’s significant that, while the US is making dramatic moves away from climate action, such major players are uniting to reaffirm their commitments.
Read here...
Feature: China’s climate pledge
China has made a landmark pledge to reduce its economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by seven to ten per cent by 2035. Its approach stands in contrast with that of the US – another significant emitter. This feature examines the implications.
Read here...
News analysis: COP30 highlights importance of international cooperation
Unlike many COPs before it, the 2025 climate summit grappled with some of the real-world challenges of reducing emissions – from global trade to the risks and opportunities of the energy transition. The conference in Brazil marked ten years since countries adopted the Paris Agreement.
Read here...
News analysis: ICJ’s historic climate opinion sets the tone for future litigation
In its advisory opinion issued in 2025, the ICJ found that states have obligations to act on the climate crisis – and can face legal consequences for breaching them. The ICJ has confirmed that included in the obligations of states are international treaties such as the Paris Agreement.
Read here...
Feature: Conventional fuels in the age of climate crisis
This feature assesses the legal issues associated with conventional fuels – oil, gas, coal and nuclear – when it comes to responding to the ever-worsening climate crisis and the urgent need for energy transition. In total, fossil fuels still accounted for 61.3 per cent of global electricity generation in 2021.
Read here...
Feature: Time’s up for fossil fuel funding
The carbon divestment movement has forced serious consideration of the rights and wrongs of financing fossil fuel. With the climate crisis on the global agenda, many institutions such as banks have taken note. But, with demand for energy still rising, the answers are far from simple.
Read here...
Feature: Understanding climate transition plans
Adapting to the reality of the climate crisis – and to efforts to combat it – requires companies to undergo a process known as transition planning. This feature explores the benefits of having a transition plan in place and the role of lawyers in creating and implementing one.
Read here...
