Global Scans · Resources · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: The world is depleting its natural resources at an alarming rate due to population growth and over consumption. Increased competition for ever-diminishing food and water resources may amplify socio-economically motivated armed conflicts and causing quests for more efficient resources on and beyond Planet Earth.

• [New] The aggregation of distributed energy resources including solar, batteries, EVs, and smart devices into Virtual Power Plants is a key trend, enabled by regulatory advancements such as FERC Order 2222. Straits Research
• [New] By the mid-2020s, heat waves, floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events had become more frequent and severe across many parts of Asia, increasing risks to food security, water resources, infrastructure, and public health. EBSCO
• [New] Venezuela will keep ownership of its natural resources while leveraging capital, technology and operational expertise to support the recovery of a strategic industry that has been severely affected by sanctions. Al Jazeera
• [New] The historic deal with Washington to hand over 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil will last 25 years and allow Venezuela to develop its oil industry while preserving ownership of and sovereignty of its resources. Al Jazeera
• [New] Increasing pressure on global water resources is encouraging industries to adopt water reuse and recycling strategies, creating new opportunities for zero valent iron technologies. Persistence Market Research
• [New] Water and food security will form another major pillar of WGES 2026, reflecting the growing pressure that climate change is placing on essential resources. GCC BUSINESS WATCH
• [New] Security concerns in the wake of Trump's threats towards Greenland is the key issues around which joiners coalesce, while questions of sovereignty and retaining control of lucrative resources like fishing rights and critical mineral resources lead the no voters. The Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade
• [New] A Europeanized NATO would be pumping enough resources into military modernization and acquisition to develop true complementary areas of excellence that might even exceed America's in some ways, strengthening the overall Western alliance vis-a-vis Russia and China. Brookings
• [New] Canada's new government will support strategic, pre-development projects in the Labrador region, funded under the First and Last Mile Fund through Natural Resources Canada. Prime Minister of Canada
• [New] Demand for compute resources is so strong that Tencent could recover its depreciation costs almost immediately if it rented its infrastructure. theregister
• [New] Pakistan has significant renewable energy resources, including abundant sunshine, strong wind corridors in Sindh and Balochistan, and considerable hydropower potential. The Friday Times
• [New] In the United States, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order 2222 aims to remove barriers for distributed energy resources, but implementation depends on individual regional transmission organizations, leading to inconsistent access. Market Data Forecast
• [New] Longer droughts, rising populations and a siphoning off of resources via a large dam in Ethiopia may soon contribute to conflicts over water and its natural resources downstream in Egypt, potentially putting millions of people at risk of poverty and starvation. News Decoder
• [New] The APG creates significant economic opportunities for resource-rich countries such as Indonesia and Lao PDR by allowing them to monetise their renewable resources through electricity exports. Ember
• [New] SWOT analysis indicated that the main threats to the East Kazakhstan Region are linked to the lack of innovation adoption and the degradation of natural resources. Frontiers
• [New] Women make up just 22% of the global data and AI workforce, not for lack of talent, but due to young women in marginalized and underserved communities having limited access to digital resources, AI training and opportunities. EY
• [New] The odds of immigrants moving into rural Canada have decreased over time due to factors like transportation limitations, lack of employment opportunities, academic resources, and potential discrimination. CanadianVisa.org
• [New] Tanzania's extensive water resources, including rivers, lakes, and underground sources, provide significant opportunities for irrigation that can directly raise cassava yields and reliability. TanzaniaInvest
• [New] In 2026, AI is moving beyond simple chatbots and content generators to become an embedded, agentic collaborator that forecasts bottlenecks before they form, allocates resources with surgical precision, and writes status reports that are more accurate than human-prepared versions. Informat
• [New] A well-designed approach to space mining might someday help to take pressure off Earth's ecosystem by providing an alternative to dwindling resources, and space-borne manufacturing centers might alleviate pollution on Earth. EBSCO

Last updated: 02 September 2026