Headlines: March 2026

We made it to March and while April remains uncertain, let’s see what’s been happening here and there, besides the Middle East.

#1 Europe’s New Energy Crisis Will Mean a Bull Market in Renewables

Now it is clear that Europe’s energy insecurity is equally serious. It imports nearly 60% of the energy it needs from other countries. Renewable power may be out of fashion in the U.S. under Trump, but in Europe it is becoming a strategic priority. That spells opportunity for investors.

This was really the biggest no-brainer of all no-brainers. Every time there’s an energy crisis, the transition choir launches into “Time to get even more renewable!”. Sadly, it is only a matter of time, and not a lot of time, for them to realise “renewables” are as dependent on affordable hydrocarbon energy as everything else. But do keep trying, by all means. It’s entertaining. And speaking of entertainment, which is why we’re here, the European Investment Bank just cracked us up.

#2 EIB to Shell Out $87B in Clean Energy Financing over 3 Years

The European Commission has adopted a new Clean Energy Investment Strategy under which the European Investment Bank (EIB) is expected to roll out EUR 75 billion ($86.56 billion) over the next three years.

The strategy focuses on unlocking greater private investment including by expanding access to capital markets for distribution and transmission operators, and derisking investment in clean energy generation technologies through public funding such as in the form of guarantees.

Reading such reports makes one suspect that certain people in certain European cities that begin with a B are inhabiting an alternative reality where nothing else matters but how many billions that we don’t have we can commit to fantasies that cannot come true. Tragically, in this reality, those billions do not simply materialise upon the wishes of those entertaining the fantasies. “But they can always issue more debt, Irina!” Yes, but that debt needs buyers and buyers are getting wary. And speaking of buyers and wariness,

#3 Global EV sales fall again in February

Global EV registrations fell 11% in February, dragged by ‌China’s largest sales drop since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, data by consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI) showed on Friday.

As governments worldwide hit the brake on policies designed ​to encourage purchases of electric cars, China has pulled funding for auto trade-ins, while ​a tax exemption on EV purchases in the country expired ⁠at the end of last year.

We didn’t really need any more evidence that EVs don’t work without subsidies but we’re getting it nevertheless, if only to frustrate us more consistently. Sales are down everywhere where subsidies are down and up in — you guessed it — Europe. Can’t wait for the EV fans to start making jokes about expensive oil. Because the price of oil — and gas — has no effect on the price of electricity at all. Hilarious. But not as hilarious as the below “Time to get even more renewable!” piece of cope.

#4 Iran war shatters Trump’s case for fossil fuels

The economic risks of the world’s heavy dependence on oil and gas have been laid bare twice in four years - first with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and now with the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran - undermining U.S. President Donald Trump’s flagship push to double down on fossil fuels.

The dramatic supply disruptions and price spikes ​unleashed by the latest Middle East conflict are likely to harden the resolve of many governments to accelerate the drive for greater energy self‑sufficiency – and that will include clean energy.

The adorable attempt to spin the story is the start of what will no doubt become a flood of stories advocating for more “clean energy” as insulation against global price shocks because, you see, the production of raw materials and components for that clean energy is so wonderfully distributed all over the world, there are no excessive dependencies on any one producer and, honestly, wind and solar are so much more secure, and who cares that it didn’t work last time at all. It will this time!

#5 A Very Special Mention

Quote 1:

“There is plenty of oil, we have no oil shortage,” he said, after a meeting with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and EU commissioners. “There is a huge surplus in the market.”

Quote 2:

The war in the Middle East is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. With crude and oil product flows through the Strait of Hormuz plunging from around 20 mb/d before the war to a trickle currently, limited capacity available to bypass the crucial waterway, and storage filling up, Gulf countries have cut total oil production by at least 10 mb/d. In the absence of a rapid resumption of shipping flows, supply losses are set to increase.

The time between these quotes: a week.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the man, the myth, the legend, the titan, Fatih Birol. The man who broke his own record in speed flip-flopping and also beat the WHO’s record in flip-flopping from early 2020. For the first time in years, the IEA’s monthly oil market report does not include the words “glut”, “oversupply”, or “EVs”. Let us all be thankful for this small mercy, because those 400 million barrels the IEA is going to release from storage are not going to go a long way.

I leave you with a small selection of funny X posts because laughter is good for you, especially in hard times.