China announced a ban of rare earth extraction and separation technologies on December 21, 2023. This has significant implications for U.S. national, economic, and rare earth security. Rare earth elements—a group of 17 metals—are used in defense technologies, including missiles, lasers, vehicle-mounted systems such as tanks, and military communications. They are also used in computers, televisions, and smartphones, along with various clean energy technologies central to decarbonization....

The COP28 Global Stocktake in Dubai showed that even with all existing emissions reduction pledges, the world is still not on pace to meet the stated goal to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius. A group of policymakers from developed countries has advocated for a phaseout of unabated fossil fuels to meet this goal. While this can expedite the transition for high-income countries, it can profoundly undermine the energy security of African countries who have received negligible amounts of renewable energy investment over the last decade. For these countries, natural gas is a critical energy source that offers a low emissions route to universal energy access....

Some good news for Africa is recognition that transition cannot be at expense of energy justice...

In September the United States and Saudi Arabia advanced discussions to form a partnership to boost critical minerals supply from African countries. Saudi Arabia announced that it would purchase $15 billion in global mining stakes to secure minerals from countries such as Namibia, Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to increase critical minerals supply for domestic processing and manufacturing, in support of its ambiguous goal of producing 500,000 electric vehicles annually by 2030. Given it lacks significant critical mineral reserves, most of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to secure critical minerals have focused on developing countries....

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Since the start of 2023, tension between the U.S. and South Africa has rapidly escalated. In February, South Africa welcomed the Russian warship Admiral Gorshkov—with the Kremlin’s pro-war symbol, the letter “Z”, on prominent display. South Africa participated in a joint naval exercise with Russia and China—Mosi II—that took place on the one-year anniversary of the Ukrainian invasion. In response, a group of U.S. policymakers introduced House Resolution 145 opposing S.A.’s hosting of military exercises with Russia and China and called on the Biden administration to “conduct a thorough review of the U.S.-S.A. relationship.”...

Study reveals collapse of electricity, transport and water sectors is crippling long-term growth...

Bearish reaction to financial crisis will have knock-on effects for the sector...

The loss of Agoa would affect just a small share of the total 10% of SA’s exports to the US...

The rush to decarbonise has created unprecedented demand for battery metals. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has estimated that by 2040 demand for lithium will grow by a factor of 40, as it will for cobalt and nickel....

Earlier this month, China announced new export controls on graphite, a material that is used in batteries, fuel cells, and nuclear reactors. The controls were introduced on “national security” grounds and will require special export permits for three grades of graphite. In 2021, China produced 79.1 percent of the world’s natural graphite, despite only having 22 percent of global reserves....