Daily Update — March 23, 2026
Climate Adaptation’s Importance; the Electrotech Age; and WPC Preview
Today is Monday, March 23, 2026, and here’s your curated selection of Essential Intelligence on global markets from S&P Global. Subscribe to be notified of each new Daily Update.
Energy Transition & Sustainability
Why climate adaptation is key to US energy expansion
US power producers face the challenge of meeting growing energy demand while preparing for how climate change will affect their assets. Many companies are engaging in adaptation and resilience efforts to prepare for the physical effects of climate change. In the absence of adaptation, our analysis shows that utilities could incur nearly $68 billion in annual financial impact from climate physical risks by 2040, rising to about $77 billion by 2050.
Despite these projections, some companies have yet to disclose their plans to adapt to physical climate risks. Nearly one-third of planned US power generation capacity is being developed by companies that lack an adaptation plan, making a significant portion of the US’ energy expansion more vulnerable to climate risk.
This report is part of S&P Global’s Look Forward: Energy Futures, a collection of research on a world of rising energy demand, expanding supply and intensifying strategic competition.
Artificial Intelligence
Has the electrotech age arrived?
The AI race between the US and China has intensified reliance on electricity and industrial infrastructure. Emerging high-value sectors such as AI computing centers and advanced manufacturing have higher power intensity than traditional industries, causing power demand to grow faster than GDP. However, the mismatched pace of power supply and grid expansion is limiting the capacity release and large-scale layout of these emerging industries.
A persistent gap between the growth of power sector investment and actual demand exacerbates this mismatch. Power supply, grid development and sector investment must align with emerging industry demand to unlock the power sector’s full supporting role in sustainable economic expansion and industrial chain upgrading.
This report is part of S&P Global’s Look Forward: Energy Futures, a collection of research on a world of rising energy demand, expanding supply and intensifying strategic competition.
Global Trade
Listen: WPC gets underway in a volatile world
S&P Global Energy experts Ian Young, Mark Thomas and Daniela Morales joined host Jameson Croteau on a special episode of the “Chemical Week Podcast” to discuss the key themes and expectations of this year's World Petrochemical Conference (WPC 2026). They explored oversupply in the face of weak demand, opportunities related to AI, turbulent geopolitics, what's next for China's chemicals sector and economic conditions.
The war in the Middle East, supply chain and tariff issues, the evolution of the industry in Asia-Pacific and the changing nature of the energy transition take center stage as industry leaders prepare to gather March 23–27 in Houston to discuss the key issues facing the global petrochemical industry at WPC 2026.
In case you missed it
- The demand for hybrid electric vehicles is surging as customers seek fuel efficiency and cost savings, but are not ready to adopt battery-electric vehicles.
- Oil product inventories at Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates fell 12% in the week ended March 16 to 14.425 million barrels, close to the record low, according to Fujairah Oil Industry Zone data.
- Emerging fund managers in infrastructure are seeking nearly three times as much capital compared with a year ago, showing optimism among new firms.
Upcoming events
- Geopolitical Shockwaves: Capital Markets in the Wake of the Iran Conflict | March 25 (Webinar)
- Private Credit: Insights into BDCs, Software Companies and Emerging Trends | March 25 (Webinar)
- NAIC Policy Reforms and Insurance Investments: An NAIC Chairman's Perspective (Webinar Replay)
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