The world has been consumed with combatting climate change for some time. But something changed this year. As Russian troops invaded Ukraine, policy-makers across the world were confronted with a more immediate challenge: energy security.
Moscow’s aggression laid bare the vulnerability of global oil markets, and the ability of bad actors to disrupt energy supply chains. The domino effect of a spike in oil prices has rippled through markets for other commodities and industries, and has already knocked out global economic growth.
It’s hard to focus the mind on climate change policies that bear fruit in years and decades when energy insecurity — for countries and households — is at our doorstep right now. The energy transition will be hard to achieve without first ensuring reliable and affordable energy sources are ready. And the hard reality is that the world isn’t ready.
That’s left policy-makers in a bind: If they can’t rein in energy prices soon, will they lose the public’s trust and be forced to water down their climate policies?
For the rest of this article: https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/the-hard-reality-is-the-world-isnt-ready-for-the-energy-transition