Russia’s war against Ukraine has disrupted energy markets and impacted the geopolitics of energy. As a consequence, oil and gas prices have reached their highest levels in a decade and have forced many countries to reshuffle their energy supplies. The war can be described as a hydrocarbon war, as the money coming from the export of fossil fuels over the past years and even today is financing Putin’s invasion. By ending its dependence on Russian fossil fuels, Europe could inflict serious damage on the economic model that has underpinned Putin’s aggression.
However, while the EU is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas, it has delivered too little yet. Furthermore, the EU’s efforts to ensure other fossil energy supplies are producing energy insecurity in third countries.
In this dossier, the Progressive Post addresses some of the questions that this energy crisis and the changes in the global energy market have raised. What contributions can energy efficiency and renewable sources make to a stable, resilient and climate-friendly energy system? Will the REPowerEU strategy lead to sound energy policies? Do we need to rethink the governance of energy markets as we change our energy sources?
