Headlines: May 2026
We are five months into a year that, it seems, just yesterday felt shiny and new but is no longer either of those things. I bring you headlines that match the mood, starting with
#1 European airlines downplay fears of summer jet fuel shortage
European airlines, airports and tour operators are striking a bullish tone on jet fuel supply despite one of the worst crises in decades which has driven prices to double from pre-Iran war levels as the conflict snarls oil flows via the Strait of Hormuz.
Dear all, I will forgo my own comments on this piece of news in favour of the European Commission’s completely unrelated X post. On the subject of railways. It was not an easy decision to make. But it was the right one.
#2 Microsoft in talks to shelve 2030 clean energy target as AI gobbles up power
Microsoft is in discussions to shelve one of the industry’s most ambitious clean-energy targets as it tries to remove hurdles that could hold it back in the race to power data centres, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
This needs to be included in the list of utterly unexpected, highly shocking, and otherwise stunning developments of the sort that nobody could have ever foreseen. It is rather unfortunate this no doubt difficult decision is being made while the world slips into an oil and gas shortage, making the AI race a tiny little bit more expensive than previously expected but that’s life for you. Always expect the unexpected and all that. Speaking of unexpected
#3 EU considers suspending penalties for oil and gas firms that breach methane law
The European Commission has drafted plans to let oil and gas companies avoid penalties for breaching the EU’s methane emissions law, a draft document seen by Reuters showed, after pressure from industry and the United States government.
What a surprise. What language. What spin. What utter desperation. The European Commission is the political equivalent of Christopher Nolan’s “Odyssey”. And it is inspiring others.
#4 Tech groups score win on clean energy rules for gas-powered data centres
Tech groups including Meta and Amazon will be able to claim gas-fuelled data centres are fully covered by their clean energy investments, after heavy pressure by lobby groups on top corporate climate watchdogs. […]
These tech companies use certificates to offset their emissions on an annual basis.
Who said the carbon credits business was dying due to lack of credibility, reliability, and general sense? I did. I was so wrong. By the looks of it, the carbon credits business is about to take off in a majorly massive way because clearly Big Tech has endless money. Or not, because “The AI capital expenditure boom has three years or less to run, say senior infrastructure and private capital investors.” Speaking of expenditure
#5 Officials hopeful that LNG Canada makes significant investment decision, expected by end of 2026
B.C. Premier David Eby says he’s hopeful that LNG Canada will come to a final investment decision at the end of the year that will be the “largest private sector investment in Canadian history.”
Eby and other provincial officials, along with federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson and LNG Canada president Chris Cooper, were in Vancouver on Thursday to tout a new “enhanced cooperation agreement” around the company’s expansion plans in Kitimat, B.C.
Oh, how tempus fugit, oh, how things change. I remember how until very, very recently there was no business case for LNG anywhere in Canada and now the government of a province that literally went to trade war with its oil and gas rich neighbour over a pipeline (under a different government, to be fair) wants all the gas it can get so it can sell it to the Chinese and make some money. Funny old world. And getting funnier because
#6 EU’s rising reliance on US gas brings risks, regulators warn
The European Union’s growing reliance on U.S. gas carries risks, including rising dependence on a single supplier, European energy regulators warned on Wednesday.
EU countries have tripled imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas since 2021 as they race to phase out Russian energy. Last year, the bloc sourced 58% of its LNG from the U.S., equivalent to about 25% of its total gas consumption.
This is fascinating. I thought gas imports from the U.S., regardless of price or conditions, were a hugely magnificent success of foreign policy and energy security efforts. I thought the U.S. was the absolutely most reliable, generous, charitable partner the EU could dream of… or was that only under Biden? Crass sarcasm aside, it’s good to know there are still functioning brains somewhere in Brussels. This sounds like a positive enough note to end on, along with the preposition.
"The European Union’s growing reliance on U.S. gas carries risks, including rising dependence on a single supplier" I guess this really shows how they think as collectivists, but I count at least nine different LNG suppliers in the US selling LNG to countries in the EU. And one of the largest suppliers is TotalEnergies, who has a direct stake in the Cameron LNG terminal in the US. Total is one of the largest producers in the Barnett Shale here in Texas, and is active in the Eagle Ford Shale and Anadarko basin. Shell (Gulf of America), BP (Haynesville, Eagle Ford, Permian), Equinor (Marcellus Shale), Repsol (Marcellus Shale, Eagle Ford Shale), and Eni (Gulf- 46 blocks) all produce natural gas in the USA and participate in supplying the LNG market. Plus at least 6 major European oil and gas companies have significant long-term offtake contracts, including Shell, BP, Eni, Equinor, Total, and even Repsol. I guess nine major LNG companies and six major European oil and gas companies who own and operate gas production in the USA are all just one supplier, or is it the fact that the molecules came from US soil?
Funny, no, how things change over time?
I remember a time when oversized folks declared "fat shaming!" and our superiors bleated "body positivity!" on a regular basis, but since the introduction of GLP-1 drugs it is all quiet on that front.
So with respect to the creation of electricity...where once all those 'in the know' would chide anyone who dared think that any technology other than wind or solar was the devil's work, yet now, given the demand wrought by the ever expanding planned number of huge surveillance centers - oops, I mean, data centers - it seems to matter not from whence said electronic pixies come...and the grift of "we's all gonna die of da global boiling!!" seems to have been silenced.