Daily Update — October 23, 2026
UN Emissions Gap Report; Wheat Markets Confront El Niño; and AI, Telco Reinvention
Today is Friday, October 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 Expansion
UN report sets out pathway to return to 1.5 C warming by 2100 after overshoot
The world must cut greenhouse gas emissions by 18% within four years to limit the worst effects of climate change, the UN warned Oct. 21, with the required pace of reductions now exceeding targets set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The UN Environment Programme's Emissions Gap Report 2026 found that global warming is certain to exceed 1.5 degrees C. The report lays out what it would take to minimize the overshoot and return to that threshold by the end of the century. The findings come as energy markets face mounting pressure from climate policy and the accelerating build-out of renewable power capacity.
"Overshoot is not surrender," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement. "We can still keep it as small and as short as possible — and bring temperatures back below 1.5 C by the end of the century."
Global Trade
Listen: El Niño and agriculture: Global wheat markets confront weather, export risks
Global wheat markets are entering a critical period, influenced by factors such as Australia’s crop prospects, India's planting season, Argentina's export potential and Black Sea shipping disruptions. El Niño remains a major weather risk, while ongoing export constraints in the Black Sea continue to affect global supply chains and price relationships.
In this episode of the “Commodities Focus” podcast, S&P Global Energy experts Vikneswaran Jeya Kumaran, Sampad Nandy and Vivian Iroanya joined host Rohan Somwanshi to examine the biggest risks and opportunities for wheat producers, traders and importers in the months ahead.
Artificial Intelligence
FutureNet Asia 2026: Can AI unlock the next wave of telco value?
As telecom operators move from AI experimentation to autonomous operations, the focus is shifting from what AI can automate to what it can enable. At FutureNet Asia 2026, held Sept. 22-23 in Singapore, discussions around AI monetization, network programmability, resilience and data-driven intelligence explored how AI can make networks more adaptive and responsive while creating new opportunities for service innovation, customer experience and revenue growth.
In a keynote, experts from XL Smart, StarHub, True and Rakuten Symphony explored how operators can move beyond AI-driven cost efficiencies toward new sources of value. The discussion highlighted opportunities to develop new enterprise services across areas such as security, edge capabilities and customer experience.
In case you missed it
- The South Korean government rejected the refining sector’s proposal to increase overseas sales to ensure adequate domestic supplies of clean oil products. However, local refiners remain committed to meeting strong global demand.
- TotalEnergies plans to expand exploration in Argentina as part of a strategy to diversify its portfolio, the company's country chair for Argentina, Sergio Mengoni, said.
- India's UltraTech Cement reported that its domestic gray cement sales rose 13.8% year over year to 35.94 million metric tons in its fiscal second quarter ended September.
Upcoming events
- Novel and promising, but bottlenecked: Q4 2026 Supply Chain Outlook (APAC) | October 27 (Webinar)
- Powering Asia's AI Economy: The Convergence of Data Centers, Energy and Digital Infrastructure | October 29 (Singapore)
- Transforming Credit Workflows with AI: Prompting Your Way to Success | November 3 (Webinar)
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