Sebastian Castelier

Documentary journalist and photojournalist who chronicles the consumption-driven capitalist system in the era of ecological breakdown, with a focus on Asia.

[Sebastian Castelier @SCastelier]

Gulf's non-oil economies: "Looking at just non-oil GDP figures is misleading" since they include "the result of the recycling of oil revenues through government spending rather than independent value creation.", @ShakuMaku said. Latest for @AlMonitor. https://t.co/P6PZdpMW8c

[Nader Itayim | ‌‌نادر ایتیّم @ncitayim]

Vitol's global oil demand outlook through 2035. Shows demand peaking at around 2031/32. #oott https://t.co/E2dRjURHsC

[Jennifer Gnana @jcgnana]

“I think that a president who comes in and says, drill, baby, drill as the core of his energy policy has to be somewhat worrying to people in the Gulf for whom the price of oil is still a major driver of their local economies” - F Gregory Gause III @GulfStatesInst #OOTT

[Assaad Razzouk @AssaadRazzouk]

EU's greenhouse gas emissions drop a huge 8% in 2023, the LARGEST annual drop in decades (pandemic aside) - bringing emissions to 37% below 1990 levels while the EU’s GDP was up 68% over the same period

Because: Renewable energy surge across the block

https://t.co/LhRzVYpF7U

[Jennifer Gnana @jcgnana]

🇸🇦 energy min Prince Abdulaziz bullish on hydrocarbons investment: Aramco is investing in China, about everywhere else on planet Earth, because we would like to continue monetizing our hydrocarbons. We will monetize every molecule of energy this land has. Period #OOTT #FII2024

[Migrant Rights @MigrantRights]

The assessment made highly selective use of the findings of UN bodies on Saudi Arabia, leaving out damaging judgements. For instance, it does not mention that Saudi Arabia is currently facing a labour complaint at the ILO @BWIglobal https://t.co/0pjCQVtLti

[Sebastian Castelier @SCastelier]

“Aramco sees the use of goods such as plastics outlasting the growth in consumption for gasoline and diesel amid the energy transition, with much of the expansion in chemicals likely coming from Asia,” read the report. https://t.co/0AZ7v2ucug

[Bloomberg Middle East @middleeast]

S&P Global Ratings predicts an increase in foreign-currency debt defaults among sovereign issuers over the next decade https://t.co/OhLtLPJwDm

[International Energy Agency @IEA]

In 2024, investment is solar PV is set to grow to $500 billion, leading the transformation of the power sector

More money is now going into solar PV than all other electricity generation technologies combined

Learn more 👉 https://t.co/ERWTgHnTbd

[Brent Toderian @BrentToderian]

The Dutch invest €595 million annually on urban biking, resulting in €19 BILLION saved in public health care costs alone. That’s how smart govts do the math on investing in better mobility.

Let’s be clear — it wastes public money to NOT do it.

#CityMakingMath HT @modacitylife

[OPEC @OPECSecretariat]

Global oil demand is projected to rise by almost 18 mb/d from 102.2 mb/d in 2023 to 120.1 mb/d in 2050. India, Other Asia, the Middle East and Africa as key sources of incremental demand growth. Combined
demand in these four regions is set to increase by 22 mb/d between 2023
and 2050 #WOO24

[Geoffrey Supran @GeoffreySupran]

BIG: California sues ExxonMobil for "deceiving the public [for decades] that plastic recycling could solve the plastic waste crisis when they clearly knew this wasn’t possible".

With plastics as with climate change, #ExxonKnew.
https://t.co/X7ci4WtBmd

[Javier Blas @JavierBlas]

Saudi Aramco keeps its quarterly dividend (important for the government’s finances) at $31 bn, well above its free cash flow of $19 bn. Aramco is depleting its cash reserves to keep Mohammed bin Salman’s spending plans on track. At some point, a dividend cut is coming | #OOTT

[Javier Blas @JavierBlas]

Some statistics:

Saudi oil production is today lower than 20 years ago.

Oil prices, adjusted by inflation, are the same as in 2004.

Saudi population has increased >50% in the last 20 years.

#OOTT #SaudiArabia

[Tarekcoin👾 @tarekfad]

Article by ⁦⁦@MSmithJourno⁩ for ⁦@AGBInsight⁩ on the higher dividend payouts by some Saudi companies with significant PIF shareholding. Strategy or economics? https://t.co/8VM1ngIQ3S

[AukeHoekstra @AukeHoekstra]

I was right about people underestimating solar (https://t.co/SMZNIMGsS3) and EVs, and I'm 100% convinced the underestimation of batteries is even more extreme.
(Notice that BNEF can't bring itself to project continued exponential growth of batteries.)

[Tarekcoin👾 @tarekfad]

New law still to be implemented but for context UNCTAD estimated cumulative FDI in seven years between 2017-23 at $81.3bn versus $132.6bn for UAE.

[Assaad Razzouk @AssaadRazzouk]

"Rising rates of cancer in young people prompt hunt for environmental culprit. That many of the cancers are gastrointestinal offers clues and could point to microplastics"

No surprise there: we will continue to find out that microplastics kill via all sorts of cancers; and that the industry knew, or should have known.

Big Oil and Big Petrochemicals (mostly the same companies) have obfuscated the health dangers of plastics for 50 years but we now know that microplastics are in everybody's blood, water, food and lungs; and that we’re eating, drinking and breathing them on a daily basis. Meanwhile plastic manufacturers downplay risks and slow-down research into impacts on our heath

Plastic is 99% oil and polluters pay ZERO for the plastic epidemic. If they did, we would have enormously less plastic around. We must decisively move against plastic, and especially against those who manufacture this poison and sell it with no producer liability consequences whatsoever.

https://t.co/kbLA82HT3v

[Sebastian Castelier @SCastelier]

@ZeinebAlsa Hi Zeineb, I am a journalist and would like to connect. Can you follow back to talk in DM? Thanks. Best regards, Sebastian

[Bloomberg Middle East @middleeast]

A growing number of people are dying from extreme heat. Academics, doctors and government officials are struggling to keep track https://t.co/e1KSl6ym4i