The most surprising outcome of the Strait of Hormuz crisis to date is that the price of oil "has not risen nearly as much as many analysts expected," writes CFR expert @ProfDavidHart. "The biggest reason is that China cut its fossil fuel imports massively in the months since the closure." "That answer begs another question: Why would China, the global champion of clean energy technology, do that? Why wouldn’t it maximize the pain felt by fossil fuel consumers worldwide, thereby boosting the sales of solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles?" "Many political analysts have proposed answers to those questions," Hart writes. "China values stability generally. China wants to be seen as the adult in the room in global politics. China might want to do the Trump administration a favor in the hope of a reciprocal benefit in the future. China might even prefer continued Republican control of the U.S. government." "All these speculations need to be seen in the light of a cold, hard economic fact: China exports more than cleantech."

President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated the wind and solar tax credits at the heart of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. A year on, the law’s preserved incentives for geothermal, advanced nuclear, and grid-scale storage may do more to cut global emissions than the credits it eliminated, argues expert @ProfDavidHart.

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are slated to meet in Beijing on May 14–15, marking the first state visit to China from a U.S. president since 2017, when Trump was first in office. Looming over the upcoming summit are geopolitical tensions—particularly trade—Taiwan, the Iran war, and artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, the global economy continues to feel the effects of soaring oil and gas prices from the Strait of Hormuz blockade and the simmering trade war between the United States and China. @rushdoshi, @ProfDavidHart, @DavidMSacks1, @ChrisRMcGuire, and @heidirediker analyze what to expect: cfr.org/articles/at-the-trum…

Energy innovation is a global process—but not all countries contribute equally, writes energy expert @ProfDavidHart. CFR’s Global Energy Innovation Index ranks 39 countries by how they contribute to improving energy technologies. According to the tracker, Sweden ranks 1st, the United States ranks 13th, and China ranks 29th. Compare countries in the interactive index: cfr.org/articles/global-ener…

Silicon Valley invests in high-risk, small-scale start-ups, while Wall Street invests in low-risk, large-scale commercial businesses. Investors tend to be wary of energy innovations that are medium-risk and scaling up. Analysts have dubbed this gap "the missing middle," and estimated the funding shortfall to be as much as $100 to $200 billion. The Council on Foreign Relations convened a diverse group of experts to explore how to fill the gap, and unblock the development of technologies that could make the energy system more secure, affordable, reliable, and sustainable. Read @profdavidhart's new report: cfr.org/reports/financing-th…

In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formally concluded that climate change caused by the buildup of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endangers public health and welfare. Based on scientific evidence and research, the agency identified 6 greenhouse gases as the main culprits and established the legal basis to regulate them under the Clean Air Act. The Trump administration formally rescinded that determination this week. CFR experts @vsiv, @Alice_C_Hill, and @ProfDavidHart discuss the potential consequences of the rollback: cfr.org/articles/paths-forwa…

Auto trade and investment policy in Canada and Mexico may be diverging from that of the United States, creating serious challenges for the integrated North American industry, argue expert @ProfDavidHart and Mia Beams. cfr.org/articles/what-canadi…

The global auto industry has entered a period of profound change—and right now, China is leading the way, argues climate expert @ProfDavidHart. "The U.S. goal should be to manage, rather than resist, the shift, echoing the nation’s response to the rise of Japanese exports decades ago," he writes. cfr.org/report/compete-dont-…

CFR’s Global Energy Innovation Index assesses national contributions to energy innovation worldwide. It also provides a window into global progress. Climate expert @ProfDavidHart highlights the hopes and concerns about global energy innovation: cfr.org/article/hope-and-con…