The UAE Goes to the Arctic (The Roundup)
US and EU about to sign a Critical Minerals pact, the UAE joins the Svalbard treaty + all the important stories you've missed (April 11, 2026)
👋 Welcome to A World Reconfigured - your guide to a world changed by climate, geopolitics and technology. I write about how climate change is creating a new world with new rules, and often cover topics like the ❄️Arctic, 🤷♂️Rare Earths and 💻Data Centers.
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My Unsolicited Take: And Yet it Moves
Rejoice: An epic ceasefire is upon us!
Thanks to the powers that be, the Epic Fury that engulfed the Middle East has calmed down. While nothing seems to be resolved just yet and the ceasefire is still very much fragile, I welcome the temporary resumption of daily lives.
As we embrace the relative calm that has descended on the Middle East, a new storm is brewing far away, in the Pacific Ocean:
Super El Niño.
Oh great. A regular El Niño is bad enough. A super El Niño is going to be something else. By all accounts, it is likely going to bring about “punishing drought in some regions and severe storms in others, while also causing the Earth’s temperature to rise”.
We wanted to forget about Climate Change and focus on other things. The planet, on the hand, probably had other plans.
In face of is going to be a fixture of the coming years, I am reminded of Galileo’s Eppur si muove - And yet, it moves. I think it’s likely we’ll see Climate Change on the front pages soon enough.
Buckle up, it’s going to get rough.
~Arod
TL;DR
The Bigger Things
US and EU want to sign a Critical Minerals pact (can I set my own price floor?)
Greenland blocks a big rare earths mine (would you like a side of Uranium with that?)
The Smaller Things
India is no longer willing to host COP33 (well it is a big party to organize and the guests always complain tbh)
The UAE is going to the Arctic (they will arrive on a yacht)
In Other News: Russia warns Canada of “unintentional accidents” in the Arctic, EDF wants to electrify France and so much more.
The Bigger Things
The biggest stories you probably missed:
US and EU to Reach Critical Minerals Agreement
What Happened? The EU and the US are on the verge of signing a comprehensive Critical Minerals pact. This pact gives something for everybody (except China): Brussels gets its producers closer to qualifying for US EV tax credits, Washington gets a clearer pipeline of “friendly” lithium, nickel and rare earths, and both get a framework for joint subsidies and offtakes that explicitly aims to reduce dependence on China.
Why Care? 🤷♂️ Because despite their mutual suspicion, both sides understand there are bigger things at stake, namely China’s dominance over rare earths and other critical minerals. This pact, if signed, is likely to usher a new stream of deals and will enable US companies, already operating in Europe, to enjoy better terms and conditions.
My Take: ✍️ I’ll believe it when I see it, but all in all sounds like good news.
Greenland Blocks Rare Earth Mine + Other Market Developments
What Happened? Remember the time everyone raved about Greenland’s critical minerals? Yeah, so not so fast: Greenland is moving to block the Kvanefjeld rare earths project by rejecting its licence renewal, effectively freezing one of the world’s largest undeveloped deposits amid local opposition and a ban on uranium mining.
Meanwhile, it’s not all bad news this week: Neo Performance has started producing heavy rare earth oxides at its Silmet site in Estonia and is ramping up a magnet plant in Narva, designed to provide Europe a small but real non‑Chinese processing and magnet manufacturing foothold.
Finally, the IEA this week released a rare earths report confirming what we talked about for the past few months, that China dominates magnet supply from mine to finished product. The IEA argues that ~$6.5 trillion of annual economic activity outside China relies on those magnets, while roughly $60 billion this decade could build alternative capacity.
Why Care? 🤷♂️ Because this stream of news shows just how hard and non-linear mineral development is. On the one hand, you have excellent news coming from Estonia, with one step further in developing refining and magnet capacity outside of China. On the other hand, Greenland rejects the largest untapped mine at a time when the West needs it the most (as the IEA report clearly states).
My Take: ✍️ Oh boy this is just what Greenland needs right now, a big scandal about rare earths. I hope no one notices…
The Smaller Things
The stories you should have on your radar:
India Walks Back on Hosting COP33
What Happened: India has withdrawn its offer to host the COP33 UN climate summit in 2028, formally notifying the UNFCCC that it is stepping back from a bid Modi first announced at COP28. India claimed that this walkback is mostly technical.
Why Care? 🤷♂️ Because India is a rising player in the renewables and the decarbonization space with an growing track record, but recently has been walking back on a few commitments. It’s not clear whether this change is truly technical or it signifies a broader shift in strategy.
My Take: ✍️ I kind-of get it. Being host is never fun: You’re on the hook for drinks, you have to clean up and guests are never happy about the music. Also, who even wants to be accountable for 100+ countries agreeing on something.
But seriously, I am still bullish on India’s ability and willingness to decarbonize and grow its renewable capacity. It has all kinds of reasons to do so.
The UAE Goes to the Arctic
What Happened: The UAE has officially joined the Svalbard Treaty, becoming the 49th signatory and opening the door for Emirati scientists and institutions to operate research projects and other civilian activities in the Arctic archipelago under Norway’s sovereignty.
Why Care? 🤷♂️ Because the Arctic is truly a global issue, and there’s Gulf countries are not ones to miss a chance to be a part of the hottest show in town. While far away from the Middle East, it seems that the Arctic is recognized by the Emirates as a new frontier. It is likely the accession to the Svalbard treaty is an attempt to stay relevant in a newly developing geopolitical hotspot.
My Take: ✍️ Well that was definitely not in my 2026 bingo, but I think the more countries are involved in Polar research, the better. I salute the UAE’s astute geopolitical senses and wish my own country do the same. How about the Polar Abraham Accords?
Turkey, Empire of Batteries; Britain, Paragon of Sunshine
What Happened: A new EMBER report puts Turkey on track to overtake every EU country on battery storage, with more than 30 GW of projects approved as it scrambles for alternatives to volatile fossil fuel imports and coal-heavy power.
Meanwhile, Britain broke its solar generation record twice on the same day and gave the green light to the 800 MW Springwell solar farm in Lincolnshire, now set to become the country’s largest power‑producing solar project and supply electricity to around 180,000 homes.
Why Care? 🤷♂️ Because this is indicates the extent of Turkey’s energy ambitions and its capacity to become a renewables powerhouse, while the UK surprises everyone with new solar records, which is… well, unexpected.
My Take: ✍️ Another one not in my 2026 bingo. I’m not super surprised about Turkey, but you have to admit UK smashing solar records does not come to mind easily. Still, I guess this is good news for brits looking for a tan?
In Other News:
📰 Battery giant CATL taps Zijin founder as mining advisor (i wonder if they need a ghost blogger)
📰 EDF unveils €240m plan to boost electrification in France (anyone fancy an electric croissant?)
📰 Sweden's Stockholm Exergi advances massive bio-CCS plant capturing 800k tonnes CO2/year (Norway, watch out!)
📰 UK and Norway thwart Russian covert op near critical infrastructure (hey i was just passing by, nothing to see)
📰 Russia warns Arctic militarization by Canada & allies risks unintentional incidents (“uninternational incidents”… yeah ok)
📰 Microsoft pauses carbon removal purchases, shocking the industry it dominated (unless they can bundle in Copilot)
📰 AOMC merges with Odyssey to form $1B deep-sea miner (hang on to your undersea horses)
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See you next week!