Daily Update — October 22, 2025
Insurers Face Climate Risks; US Tariffs Impact AI; and EU Rules on Russian Oil
Today is Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 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
Listen: Why all eyes are on insurance in climate risk conversations
One of the key takeaways from Climate Week NYC 2025 was that the insurance industry is taking a more central role in climate risk conversations. As climate change causes increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events, some insurers are raising premiums or withdrawing from certain regions, with implications for policy and the financial markets. Martin Powell, group sustainability director at global insurance and asset management group AXA, joined the “All Things Sustainable” podcast on the sidelines of Climate Week NYC to discuss the changing insurance landscape.
“[A world with a 2-degree C rise in global temperatures] is still insurable, but it's going to be unaffordable for many, many people,” Powell said. "As we head towards that sort of temperature increase, our job is to try and predict and assess what that's going to mean for society in five years' time and do what we can today to reduce those impacts.”
Artificial Intelligence
US cannot attain preeminence in energy, AI if tariffs remain: Liberty Energy
The Trump administration's tariff polices are making drilling and completion equipment more expensive, which could hamper companies trying to build the power needed to win the AI race, Liberty Energy CEO Ron Gusek said Oct. 17 during a third-quarter earnings call. Liberty, which is developing a power business targeting data center loads, reported a slowdown in its oilfield services business for the third quarter. The company also highlighted growing opportunities for its power generation business, announcing a target to deliver 1 GW of capacity through 2027. Tariffs on imported steel and other materials endanger both businesses and contradict the administration's priorities around energy production and AI, Gusek said.
"The secretary of energy has called the race for AI dominance our next Manhattan Project," Gusek said, adding that winning the race requires foreign-made power equipment and other components.
Global Trade
EU rules out mass-balancing to comply with Russian oil import clampdown
The EU issued guidance on its upcoming import ban on oil products made from Russian crude, which will prohibit refiners from mass-balancing feedstock blends and require importers to provide guarantees of origin. The decision to suspend imports of Russian crude processed in third countries, or jurisdictions not part of the EU, marked a key policy pivot for the bloc’s 18th sanctions package. The EU has vowed to close a regulatory loophole that left its members free to import large volumes of supplies refined in India and Turkey.
Effective Jan. 21, 2026, the regulation has created uncertainty for the sourcing strategies of India, China and Turkey, Russia's largest crude buyers. India and Turkey alone supply about 400,000 b/d of refined products into Europe, acting as key sources of diesel and jet fuel. However, traders warned that the impact of the regulations will depend on enforcement practices in a market that is challenging to police.
In case you missed it
- Recent developments in the US yield environment are beginning to shift perspectives on the US Treasury market’s long-held reputation as the world financial safe haven.
- The global auto industry is adapting to a changing US trade environment and regional dynamics, with automakers strategically managing tariff impacts to minimize consumer price increases.
- International Maritime Organization member states voted to delay regulatory talks for new decarbonization rules on marine energy by a year, faced with strong opposition from the US.
Upcoming events
- Q4’25 Outlook for U.S. Commercial Bank Performance and M&A: Famine to Feast | October 23 (Webinar)
- Tariffs on Trade: How it’s impacting economies and sectors | October 29 (Webinar)
- CERAWeek 2026 | March 23–27, 2026 (Houston)