As the economy continued to recover last year after the pandemic lockdowns, sectors such as tourism, aviation and consumer recorded strong rebounds, with healthcare — except for glove makers — continuing to post earnings growth. Now, as the post-pandemic boom subsides, attention is turning to sectors with long-awaited project roll-outs, such as oil and gas, construction and power.

Looking ahead to try to predict what might happen in the energy space over a span of a full year is always a challenging task. The world of energy has always been constantly changing and hard to foresee, and there is no reason to expect 2024 to be materially different. Rising concerns over climate change, trillions of dollars in government programs designed to force markets in competing directions and looming elections in the US, Great Britain and other countries promise to render 2024 one of the least predictable years in history where energy is concerned.

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to lead efforts to simultaneously achieve decarbonization, economic growth and energy security in Asia, an ambitious goal he set Monday at a regional climate summit attended by Southeast Asian leaders.

Western Digital will work with TNB Renewables Sdn Bhd, a unit of Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), to incorporate renewable energy (RE) into its operations in Malaysia. Both parties have signed the Corporate Green Power Agreement (CGPA) under the Corporate Green Power Program (CGPP).

Scientists in California shooting nearly 200 lasers at a cylinder holding a fuel capsule the size of a peppercorn have taken another step in the quest for fusion energy, which, if mastered, could provide the world with a near-limitless source of clean power. Last year on a December morning, scientists at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California (LLNL) managed, in a world first, to produce a nuclear fusion reaction that released more energy than it used, in a process called “ignition.”

Addressing challenges and opportunities in clean energy, while ensuring a “just transition,” requires broad support, particularly in financing, incentives, technology, and infrastructure, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. “Malaysia will therefore welcome continuous support and cooperation from Japan, Australia, and others as we seek to accelerate our energy transition journey,” he said in his remarks at the Asia Zero Emission Community (Azec) Leaders Meeting in Tokyo on Monday.

The energy price cap in Great Britain is expected to fall by 14% in April because of cheaper oil and gas prices, according to an influential forecaster – although disruption to shipping in the Red Sea has added uncertainty to its prediction. The average annual electricity and gas bill should fall by about £268 to £1,660 in April, Cornwall Insight said. The independent research company copies the methods used by the industry’s regulator, Ofgem, in analysing energy markets to calculate its predictions for the cap.

The Malaysian government is calling on the private sector to view decarbonization as an essential long-term corporate strategy that will help boost economic growth while the nation shifts away from fossil fuels, its climate minister told Nikkei Asia recently. The Southeast Asian country released its National Energy Transition Roadmap this summer, aiming to derive 70% of its energy supply from renewables by 2050, a more exacting goal than the previous 40% by 2035.

On the top deck of a three-tiered structure moored near downtown Rotterdam, brown and white cows graze on hay dropped from a conveyor belt above their heads and rinds of oranges salvaged from supermarket juice machines in the port city. Canopies overhead protect the cows from sun and collect rainwater they will eventually drink. Sometimes the Maas-Rijn-Ijssel cows — named for three Dutch rivers — walk over to a machine that automatically milks them, or they shuffle out of the way of a robot trundling past to mop up manure that will be turned into organic fertilizer.

More than 100 countries at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai have agreed to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 - one of the least controversial commitments floated at the conference. But they have given little detail on how they can make an industry running flat out go that much faster. "It is realistic, but there are elements that need to be solved; permitting, leases, grid connections," Anders Opedal, chief executive of Norway's Equinor (EQNR.OL), a major renewable energy developer, told Reuters.

The Cabinet reshuffle which saw the creation of an energy transition and utilities ministry came as a fitting move to turn Malaysia into a green hub in the region. Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said he also thanked the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for entrusting Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof to helm the new ministry.

A draft of a potential climate deal at the COP28 summit on Monday suggested a range of measures countries could take to slash greenhouse gas emissions, but omitted the "phase out" of fossil fuels many nations have demanded - drawing criticism from the U.S., EU and climate-vulnerable countries. The draft has set the stage for contentious last-minute negotiations in the two-week summit in Dubai, which has laid bare deep international divisions over whether oil, gas and coal should have a place in a climate-friendly future.