Iran war is exposing South Africa’s dependency on diesel: what went wrong

By Lisette IJssel de Schepper, Chief Economist Bureau for Economic Research, Stellenbosch University

It is forgivable to think that an oil shock mainly hurts at the petrol pump. After all, that is where households feel it first. But when my colleagues and I at the Bureau for Economic Research started digging through South Africa’s fuel data, a different story emerged – one that says as much about the country’s infrastructure failures as it does about global geopolitics.

As we began modelling the likely impact on the South African economy, it quickly became clear that diesel would inflict even more pain on the…

Read complete article

~	Mali’s security crisis holds warnings for Nigeria: here’s why

~	Global media networks simplify Ethiopia’s conflicts: insights from 5 years of data

~	Ebola outbreak in the DRC: four reasons it will be hard to contain

~	Is public opinion in favour of granting Europe’s undocumented migrants legal status?

~	Why warmer UK summers could make staycations the money-smart choice

~	Rice feeds billions of people – but its role in fueling climate change is growing

~	Cooling poverty is making extreme heat more dangerous for millions

~	Cuba needs a long-term solution to its energy crisis

~	Wildfire risk is now spreading to cool climates like the Scottish Highlands and Irish uplands

~	A single dose of psilocybin eased depression symptoms for months, our study found