AI helping drill for more oil and other stories to catch up on

Akshat Rathi writes the Zero newsletter, which examines the world’s race to cut planet-warming emissions. He is the author of Climate Capitalism .

Here's your curated list of recent climate and energy news. Please send feedback and reply in comments with links to stories that you found interesting.

COP29 host Azerbaijan is unable to balance government budgets at current oil prices. Neither is Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, according IMF's latest estimate of breakeven oil prices. (Bloomberg / X)

Refreshing political leadership in 2024: “The threat of climate change may not feel as urgent as a terrorist or an autocrat. But it is more fundamental. It is systemic, pervasive and accelerating towards us.” - David Lammy, UK Foreign Secretary (The Guardian )

China’s slowdown is cutting global oil demand for the first time since the pandemic years. As per the IEA, "In July and August, more than half of all cars sold in China were electric, and a substantial share of new trucks now use natural gas or electricity. We expect these changes to displace about 400 000 b/d of oil demand growth this year alone." (IEA)

Typhoon Yagi causes $1.6 billion in damage in Vietnam. That is the equivalent of the US being hit with a $100 billion climate disaster. (Bloomberg )

Chart of the week. AI's demand for electricity is a manageable challenge, says Brian Deese , advisor to US presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Stellantis is going against its automaker peers by opposing delays to EU rules on vehicle emissions. Volkswagen and the auto industry body are lobbying for the delay. (Bloomberg)

Having missed opportunities in the electric-car boom, VW is now calling on more state support for the ailing auto industry. Not kidding. (Bloomberg)

The investments in AI “must be the most money we’ve ever spent in the least amount of time on something we fundamentally don’t understand.” The Atlantic takes a look at Microsoft's AI enabling emissions beyond the emissions it generates in power consumption.

Catch up on this week's Zero podcast. I spoke with my Bloomberg News colleague and DC-based policy reporter Jennifer Dlouhy about what you need to know about the climate plans of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris going into the US presidential election.