Europe’s Energy Transition Is Now Global

that the war in Ukraine means for energy, climate and food; Russia’s invasion has caused a short-term spike in prices, but could prompt a long-term shift towards sustainability.

Jeff Tollefson, 5 April 2022 (Nature)

“…[E]ven as Russia’s bombs rain down on Ukraine, its oil and gas continues to flow to Western nations that have condemned the invasion…Similar concerns arose when Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, and in 2014 when it invaded and then annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea. The allure of cheap Russian energy proved too strong in the past, but…[but political leaders are rethinking] their energy plans, which could have profound impacts on a range of issues, from a burgeoning food crisis to global efforts to curb greenhouse-gas emissions…For now, the biggest question facing world leaders is how to sever their energy dependence on Russia…

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…[Despite bold promises,] the amount of Russian oil and gas entering Europe has actually increased since the war in Ukraine began…But that could change in the coming months, as countries implement plans to diversify their energy sources and reduce the flow of Russian oil and gas…[Poland,] Germany and Austria are laying the groundwork…[for EU-wide] plans to curb imports of Russian gas by around two-thirds by the end of the year…[But that depends] largely on increasing imports of natural gas from abroad, and it is not clear whether individual nations in Europe will follow this plan…

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…Although the next few years could be tough, the long-term impact on energy policy and greenhouse-gas emissions in Europe could be beneficial…The power sector is covered by the European trading system, which caps cumulative carbon emissions, so a temporary increase in coal power, for instance, should drive up the price of carbon credits and force emissions reductions elsewhere…[though that] could slow the clean energy transition — and boost greenhouse-gas emissions — in other parts of the world…” click here for more

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