Global Scans · Resources · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: The world is depleting its natural resources at an alarming rate due to population growth and over consumption. Increased competition for ever-diminishing food and water resources may amplify socio-economically motivated armed conflicts and causing quests for more efficient resources on and beyond Planet Earth.

• [New] Provisions for defining EV battery health are part of the Advanced Clean Cars II framework that the California Air Resources Board presented for the first time earlier this month - a measure that aims to make EVs 80% of new light vehicle sales by 2035. Green Car Reports
• [New] Russia is actively engaged in the international climate agenda, taking account of both the challenges and the economic opportunities emerging in its northern regions - including expanded access to the northern sea route and mineral resources in permafrost zones. The Guardian
• [New] Tapping Australia's deep geothermal resources could unlock new sources of net-zero-emissions electricity for homes, industry and transport, as well as hydrogen production, data centers and critical minerals processing. The Conversation
• [New] While other nations concentrate on viability and export potential, South America is still developing, with Brazil and Argentina utilizing renewable resources for future green ammonia production. Transpire Insight
• [New] Rebuilding Ukraine will require significant resources, institutional resilience, strong governance, and global partnership. World Bank Group
• [New] Offshore Wind Resources Are Abundant: Offshore wind could deliver large amounts of energy to fulfill the electrical needs of cities along U.S. coastlines. Energy.gov
• [New] Iran, recognized as a country with substantial renewable energy potential, has vast capacities for utilizing renewable resources due to its unique geographical location, being situated in the solar belt and wind-rich regions. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] Global supply chains for phosphorus-related resources are highly concentrated, with production and processing largely controlled by a small number of countries, making availability highly vulnerable to geopolitical, economic and environmental disruptions. College of Natural Resources News
• [New] The war in Iran will absorb 70% of US attention and resources. |
• [New] The 2026 PLMA Fall Conference will offer real-world insights into flexible load management, DERs as grid resources, equitable access through flex load, decarbonization, EV managed charging, and much more! PLMA
• [New] Google Labs maintains an AI Futures Fund that supports AI startups with equity funding and strategic resources, with potential for direct investment at growth stages. Blockchain Council
• [New] Drones have the potential to contribute to the improvement of the health rates of the underserved populations in Rajasthan by making sure that the needed resources are moving in the shortest time possible and at minimum costs. The Open Public Health Journal
• [New] Unconventional Oil Project with EOG Resources and Petronas: A separate FID is expected to follow the gas project decision. Discovery Alert
• [New] Macron framed it explicitly: Africa will no longer be seen as a source of rare earth elements and other resources, but rather as a partner. The Rio Times
• [New] A China that can rely on aligned disruption in the Middle East has a way of stretching American focus, resources, and response capacity across multiple theaters at once. Manara Magazine
• [New] Natura Resources plans to implement a molten-salt microreactor to generate electricity and conduct research. Certrec | Regulatory & Technology Solutions for the Ene
• [New] WAF has committed to over 100,000 meters of exploration drilling in 2026, focused on converting inferred resources within the 10-year mine plan and testing expansion potential. Orecast Intelligence
• [New] West African Resources Ltd has reaffirmed its 10-year production outlook at its annual general meeting, targeting average annual gold output of 533,000 ounces from 2026 to 2035 across its Sanbrado and Kiaka operations in Burkina Faso. Orecast Intelligence
• [New] Shell's cash capital expenditure for 2026 is projected to be between $24bn and $26bn, including approximately $4bn for the acquisition of ARC Resources. Yahoo Finance
• [New] GPT-4 required approximately 31.5 times more GPU resources for training than GPT-3.5 (2515 vs. 80 GPUs), representing a more than 3000% increase in computational resources. Nature
• [New] The core challenge for European policymakers is no longer simply to spend more, but to channel new resources into interoperable multidomain capabilities that will provide battlefield advantage and thereby deter adversaries in the coming decades. CEPA
• [New] Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Nvidia, OpenAI, Reflection and SpaceX will provide resources to help augment warfighter decision-making in complex operational environments. BNN Bloomberg
• [New] Developing compliance programs adaptable to both US state variations and EU harmonization without requiring complete reformulation will save significant resources. QIMA

Last updated: 27 May 2026