Monday briefing: ​Will a new alliance of nations be able to guide the world towards a post-fossil fuel future?

In today’s newsletter: As oil prices spike and geopolitical tensions rise​, a diverse group of governments is attempting to build momentum ​and rewrite the global energy scriptGood morning. The cost of fossil fuels is threatening to strangle the global economy once again. Last week, oil prices surged after the US president, Donald Trump, warned that a blockade of Iranian ports could last months – causing the price of oil to jump to its highest level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. With it, the spectre of global recession looms large.But on the Atlantic coast in Colombia last week, a coalition of the willing was working to break the cycle. Almost 60 governments met in Santa Marta for the world’s first conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels. At the conference, each country agreed to develop roadmaps on how to move away from fossil fuel dependency.AI | The biometrics commissioner for England and Wales has warned that national oversight of AI-powered face scanning to catch criminals is lagging far behind the technology’s rapid growth.UK politics | Labour’s deputy leader, Lucy Powell, has warned there will be “no magic bullet” to solve Labour’s problems or major challenges facing the country as its MPs grapple with how to navigate the fallout from the local elections.Iran | Donald Trump has announced that the US will “guide” ships trapped by the Iran war out of the Gulf through the strait of Hormuz on Monday morning, and claimed his representatives were having “very positive” discussions with Iran.Europe | Canada is to become the first non-European country to attend a meeting of the European Political Community when the prime minister, Mark Carney, joins today’s summit in Armenia.Israel | Spain’s foreign ministry has demanded the immediate release of a Spanish national it said was being “held illegally” by Israel after the interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla. Continue reading...