A compressor station on the Power of Siberia pipeline
States, markets and the geopolitics of gas
Geopolitics is just as significant as market factors or climate action in shaping the future role of gas
The relationship between states and markets—and the impact of this relationship within the context of critical uncertainty about the future of fossil fuels—is a common thread running through the gas sector. The same day that US President Donald Trump described climate change as the “greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”, at the UN General Assembly in New York, the UN Environment Programme published its latest Production Gap report. The report concludes that “governments plan to produce about more than double (120%) the volume of fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5C, and 77% more than would be consistent with 2C”. 100–150bcm – Pote
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
