The high profile UN summit on climate change in Paris appears to have had little impact on the decision making and worries of global business leaders. Despite concerns about its impact on extreme weather events, such as recent flooding in the UK, climate change failed to register near the top of the list of business threats, according to a survey of 1,400 CEOs from around the world compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and published at Davos this week.

The findings were similar to a separate survey of 13,000 business leaders produced by the World Economic Forum (WEF). It also found a relative absence of concern about climate change and environmental risk amongst business leaders.—Tom Levitt, The Guardian, 20 January 2016

BP Plc’s Bob Dudley joined other oil executives in Davos in painting a gloomy outlook for 2016, saying the market faced a “flood of oil.” The first mantra of the oil crisis was “lower for longer.” Then “lower for even longer.” Now in Davos, executives are starting to talk—or rather, whisper—about a new nightmare scenario: “A lot lower for a lot longer.”—Javier Blas and Grant Smith, Bloomberg, 21 January 2016



The first oil tanker to sail from the US after restrictions were lifted on the country’s crude exports has arrived in Europe, a landmark moment for an industry battling a collapse in prices. Carrying a cargo dubbed “Liquid American Freedom” by the US House energy and commerce committee members, the ‘Theo T’ Panamax oil tanker docked at the French port of Fos on Wednesday, having left Texas almost three weeks ago. Vitol loaded the Theo T Panamax tanker with a mix of ultralight oil from the Texas Eagle Ford shale formation produced by ConocoPhillips. Most refineries on the US Gulf Coast are geared towards processing heavier crudes.—David Sheppard, Financial Times [Paid subscription required], 21 January 2016



The State Department special envoy on climate change said on Friday that although a recent poll shows that 62 percent of Americans don’t think climate change will pose a threat in their lifetime, a sampling of “good polling” would reveal increasing public concern.—Penny Starr, CNS News, 18 January 2016

Data for the global temperature of 2015 have been released by Nasa, Noaa and the Uk Met Office. As anticipated 2015 is the warmest year on record and consistent with the El Nino boosting global temperatures, along with a contribution from the unprecedented warming caused by the so-called Pacific “blob.” Nasa made a key statement; “Only once before, in 1998, has the new record been much greater than the old record by that much.” This clearly because 2015 was like 1998 a strong El Nino year. Because of this it is unwise to use 2015 in any trend analysis.—David Whitehouse, Global Warming Policy Forum, 20 January 2016



Wild weather swings from the phenomenon known as El Nino have rocked commodities and countries from Australia to Paraguay. Now, analysts are tipping renewed jitters spurred by La Nina, El Nino’s little sister. While El Nino is characterized by rising sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, La Nina represents periods of below-average temperatures, which produces an opposite weather impact. So while El Nino saw record heat in Australia and warm climate in North America during December, La Nina is expected to bring rains Down Under and intensified chills in North America during the same period.—Nyshka Chandran, CNBC, 14 January 2016

We have created a framework that commits us to load higher costs on UK consumers and businesses via the Climate Change Act 2008 and all its ramifications than any other country in Europe. We have increased the burden of costs on British households and business, reduced the burden of costs incurred by our partners in Europe, and not reduced the emissions of CO2 by a single molecule. That is an extraordinary thing to achieve. It puzzles me that the political class is committed to such perverse climate policies. Then I found a possible hint of an explanation, when someone mentioned to me, Madam Deputy Speaker, a book that I am sure, like me, you have not read but have heard about called … “Fifty Shades of Grey”. The surprising popularity of that book demonstrated that sadomasochism, or the infliction of pain and the submission to pain, are far more widespread tastes than we had previously thought. It seems to me that in the political sphere there is a similar belief that it would be popular to inflict pain or submit to pain by green policies. We might say that what we are suffering from in this country is “Fifty shades of green”.—Peter Lilley MP, House of Commons, 18 January 2016