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Gas to become world’s second largest energy source by 2030 — IEA
(Reuters) – Natural gas is expected to overtake coal as the world’s second largest energy source after oil by 2030 due to a drive to cut air pollution and the rise in liquefied natural gas (LNG) use, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday. The Paris-based IEA said in its World Energy Outlook 2018 that energy demand would grow by more than a quarter between 2017 and 2040 assuming more efficient use of energy – but would rise by twice that much without such improvements. Global gas demand would increase by 1.6 percent a year to 2040 and would be 45 percent higher by then than today, it said.
The estimates are based on the IEA’s “New Policies Scenario” that takes into account legislation and policies to reduce emissions and fight climate change. They also assume more energy efficiencies in fuel use, buildings and other factors. “Natural gas is the fastest growing fossil fuel in the New Policies Scenario, overtaking coal by 2030 to become the second-largest source of energy after oil,” the report said. China, already the world’s biggest oil and coal importer, would soon become the largest importer of gas and net imports would approach the level of the European Union by 2040, the IEA said.
According to Reuters calculations, based on China’s General Administration of Customs data, China has already overtaken Japan as the world’s top natural gas importer. Although China is the world’s third-biggest user of natural gas behind the United States and Russia, it has to import about 40 percent of its needs as local production cannot keep pace. Emerging economies in Asia would account for about half of total global gas demand growth and their share of LNG imports would double to 60 percent by 2040, the IEA report said. “Although talk of a global gas market similar to that of oil is premature, LNG trade has expanded substantially in volume since 2010 and has reached previously isolated markets,” it said. LNG involves cooling gas to a liquid so it can transported by ship.
The United States could account for 40 percent of total gas production growth to 2025, the IEA said, while other sources would take over as U.S. shale gas output flattened and other nations started turning to unconventional methods of gas production, such as hydraulic fracturing or fracking. Global electricity demand will grow 2.1 percent a year, mostly driven by rising use in developing economies. Electricity will account for a quarter of energy used by end users such as consumers and industry by 2040, it said. Coal and renewables will swap their positions in the power generation mix. The share of coal is forecast to fall from about 40 percent today to a quarter in 2040 while renewables would grow to just over 40 percent from a quarter now.
However, the world’s coal plants make up one third of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions today. Many of those are in Asia, where average coal plants are on average 11 years old with decades left to operate, compared with an average age of 40 years in the United States and Europe. “We can create some room for maneuver by expanding the use of Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage, hydrogen, improving energy efficiency, and in some cases, retiring capital stock early. To be successful, this will need an unprecedented global political and economic effort,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director. Energy-related CO2 emissions could reach a record high this year, the IEA said, and will continue to grow at a slow but steady pace to 2040. From 2017 levels, the IEA said emissions would rise by 10 percent to 36 gigatonnes in 2040, mostly driven by growth in oil and gas. But this is “far out of step” with what scientific knowledge says would be required to tackle climate change, it added.
Cardano (ADAUSD) climbed amidst tight trading activities in the crypto market, up by 1.05% in the past 24 hours, showing resilience near key support.
The price ticked up on Sunday amidst negative movements in the global crypto market. The gain has reduced its negative movement in the week to 1%. Cardano is showing strength with a $70 million ADA treasury push and a bullish December setup, but it faces key resistance amidst competing traders.
The token is trading at $0.4165 at the time of filing the report on Sunday, gaining more than 1% on the day as volume traded reached $359.252 million. The token is in a notable correction from its November highs. Recent trading activity reflects pronounced investor caution. Over a 30-day period, ADA has declined approximately 15%, mirroring the broader pressure on risk assets from macroeconomic uncertainties.
Sentiment trades mixed, as retail and mid-sized investors are accumulating at lows, but large holders remain sceptical. Cardano’s privacy-centric Midnight Network went live after years of development, introducing NIGHT – the first native asset on Cardano.
According to crypto analysts, Short-term speculation around NIGHT airdrops and interoperability boosted ADA demand. ADA rebounded from $0.371–$0.416 after testing an ascending trend line connecting 2023–2025 lows. Traders interpreted the bounce as a bullish divergence, but ADA remains below critical resistance of $0.5113 and its 200-day EMA of $0.68.
ADA’s minor rally reflects optimism around Midnight’s launch and oversold technicals, but scepticism about its ecosystem impact and whale selling caps upside. While the price surges, analysts stated that Cardano balances technical hope against macroeconomic headwinds, with Midnight’s adoption trajectory and $0.51 resistance serving as critical watch points.
While governance upgrades signal maturing decentralisation, crypto analysts are still querying whether ADA can leverage these developments to reverse its 2025 underperformance.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has recovered over 7.6 million pills of tramadol and a total of 76,273.4 kilograms of different strains of cannabis.
The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. Mr Babafemi said that the drugs, including Colorado, Loud and Skunks, had several members of drug trafficking organisations linked to the seizures arrested.
He said that out of the total opioids seized during the raids, not less than 3,874,000 pills of tramadol, 225mg and 100mg, and others, as well as 252.2litres of codeine syrup were recovered. He said that they were recovered from a warehouse at Oko market, Asaba, Delta, on Saturday. He also said that no fewer than 1.2 million tablets of tramadol 225mg were seized from a suspect on December 3.
This, he said, was when NDLEA operatives on patrol at Orogwe, along the Onitsha-Owerri road, Imo, intercepted his vehicle conveying the consignment, which was loaded at Aba, Abia, and heading to Onitsha, Anambra. Meanwhile, in Adamawa, NDLEA officers on December 1 intercepted a Toyota Hiace bus marked MGU 554 XB along Maraba-Mubi, coming from Jos, Plateau state, and heading to Mubi, with a total of 1,577,112 capsules of tramadol.
“Other drugs intercepted were Exol-5 tablets, all concealed inside jumbo bags mixed with new rubber sandals and slippers. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure. Similarly, another 27-year-old suspect was nabbed along Zaria-Kano road, Kano state, with 197,000 pills of exol-5,” he said.
The NDLEA chairman, Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of the SOU commands in Delta, Adamawa, Imo, Ondo, Lagos, and Kano for the arrests and seizures. Mr Marwa said that their operational successes, along with those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction, were well appreciated. NAN
The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has released the 2025 Subnational Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Report, with Lagos emerging as the best-performing state, scoring 85.6 per cent.
The report released by the director-general of PEBEC, Zahrah Mustapha-Audu, has Kaduna in second position with 65.1 per cent. Oyo, FCT, and Ogun rounded up the top five with scores of 62.7 per cent, 61.0 per cent, and 59.9 per cent, respectively. Others include Enugu (56.2 per cent) in sixth position, with Plateau (56.2 per cent), Ekiti (55.8 per cent), Kano (54.8 per cent), and Nasarawa (53.4 per cent) rounding out the top 10 states.
The EoDB report is a comprehensive data-driven assessment of how Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT are shaping business competitiveness through regulation, infrastructure, and administrative efficiency.
The report assesses performance across 16 indicators and 36 sub-metrics covering electricity, infrastructure, digital connectivity, land administration, taxation, trade logistics, justice delivery, investor support and skilled labour readiness.
According to the DG, these states distinguished themselves through consistent reform momentum, improved digital processes, and more predictable regulatory environments. “The 2025 Report also highlights five priority interventions states can implement immediately. These include establishing investor aftercare systems, strengthening MSME credit enablement, harmonising interstate trade rules, upgrading commercial justice processes, and improving power reliability for industrial clusters,” she said.
According to her, PEBEC will continue to support state-led reform adoption, particularly under the $750 million State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) programme. She added that “the 2025 Subnational EoDB Report provides a critical foundation for policy action, investment decisions, and long-term competitiveness across Nigeria.”
The DG said the Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report is available for download at www.pebec.gov.ng/reports
PEBEC had earlier released its 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Performance Report, covering MDAs’ performance from January to October. This performance report is part of the council’s effort to track and measure the compliance of federal government MDAs with the BFA’s requirements on promoting Transparency and Efficiency of government-delivered services to the business community.
The report presents a data-driven assessment of 69 priority MDAs, drawing on monthly compliance submissions, independent mystery shopping, website audits, ReportGov analytics, and targeted process-verification exercises.
According to the report, the top five performing MDAs include the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), with an impressive 90.6 per cent score, followed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at 89 per cent. The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), ranks third with 86.6percent, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) secured the fourth and fifth positions, scoring 85.3 per cent and 84.2 per cent, respectively.
PEBEC, currently chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, was established in July 2016 by the federal government to oversee Nigeria’s business environment intervention. It has a dual mandate of removing bureaucratic and legislative constraints to doing business and improving the perception of the ease of doing business in Nigeria. NAN
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