Although there have been no serious threats to global oil supplies since the Arab uprisings started, oil prices will remain volatile as political developments combine with global economic gloom and surviving regimes spend to pacify populations, a Chatham House briefing paper reports.

Sheila A. Smith discusses recovery and rebuilding one year after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Shale gas drilling could help Ohio's economy, but Steven Mufson of the Washington Post asks if fracking is worth the human and environmental cost.

Almost a year after the Fukushima disaster, fifty-two of Japan's fifty-four nuclear power plants have been shut down. The reactor explosion destroyed the population's trust in nuclear energy. But the atomic lobby--and the country's industrial needs--could block a possible phase-out, writes Wieland Wagner at Der Spiegel.

As Cuba drills its first offshore oil well, the United States should anticipate the possibility of an oil spill, implementing policies that would help both countries stem and clean up a spill in a way that is minimally disruptive to the United States' Cuba strategy.

John Campbell says that as oil-rich Nigeria continues to suffer from decades-long dysfunctional governance and tensions between the Christian South and the Muslim North are rising, Nigeria is in need of creative American diplomacy.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 caused the world's largest offshore oil spill. It has also led to a mammoth legal action, as tens of thousands of plaintiffs--and the US government--fight for compensation, writes Ed Crooks.

The United States will "increasingly seek partnerships with other like-minded countries [in the region] to ensure global stability, security, and prosperity." In a new volume of collected essays, CFR Senior Fellow Scott Snyder writes that one of the strongest partners for the United States is South Korea.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave these remarks on February 16, 2012 at the launch of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.

A senior Department of State official gave this telephone briefing on February 16, 2012 regarding an upcoming coalition on climate change and clean air.

China has increased its economic ties with Africa as it seeks to fulfill its growing energy demands. But China's way of doing business has prompted international criticism, even as its policy of noninterference faces new challenges.

With recent advances in oil extraction techniques, Peter Orszag says a revolution could be on the horizon for U.S. oil production.

China's search for food and land in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa, reflects the country's pressing scarcity of water. China's approach has set off alarm bells in the region and the United States should work actively to address China's water security needs, argues Elizabeth Economy before the House U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Efforts by the United States and EU to sanction Iran's oil exports have prompted worries about a disruption of global oil markets. Robert McNally outlines scenarios in which rising tensions could affect the price of oil and potential policy responses.

The United States submitted these observations on the relationship between climate change and human rights to the UN Human Rights Council in 2008. The observations were "requested by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in its communications dated June 3 and August 21, 2008…in accordance with Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution 7/23, in order to conduct "a detailed analytical study on the relationship between climate change and human rights."

The Keystone XL pipeline debate shows the pitfalls of politics intruding on energy policy, says CFR's Michael Levi. He reviews the pros and cons of the issue and proposes additional steps to bolster U.S. energy security.

Michael A. Levi separates fact from fiction regarding the Keystone XL pipeline.

With oil supplies tight, regions most vulnerable to oil supply disruptions present a significant economic concern, particularly threats to the Strait of Hormuz and unrest in Nigeria, explains this Backgrounder.

Sanctions over Iran's nuclear program have triggered threats involving the strategic Strait of Hormuz and new debate over the methods chosen to pressure Tehran.

Captain Bradley S. Russell, USN and Max Boot argue that Iran must realize that by initiating direct hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz, it risks American retaliation against their covert nuclear-weapons program.