Could the Russian war trigger a renewable energy revolution? It depends where in the world you look
While Johnson wrote about more drilling, he also wrote about doubling down on renewable energy, such as solar or wind power. A British government spokesman told CNN that a new energy strategy to be revealed next week will “boost” its renewables and nuclear capacity.
“The war will energize Europe’s energy transition – most European leaders understand that fossil fuel diversification is a path to greater security,” said Nikos Tsafos, an energy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to CNN in an email interview. “The response in the United States has been more bifurcated – some calling for more oil and gas production, others for more renewable energy investment.”
“We have to walk and chew gum – dealing with short-term supply as families have to take their children to school, work, groceries and go about their business – and that often requires petrol “, a White House spokesperson told CNN. . “But in the long term, we need to accelerate – not slow – our transition to a clean energy future.”
The EU roadmap has yet to be voted on, but it is supported by policies already underway. And many European countries have more developed clean energy infrastructure than the United States, which is just beginning to develop its offshore wind.
“It’s clear that Europe has a game plan and the United States has a goal, which is not the same thing,” said John Larsen, partner of the nonpartisan group Rhodium.
The race for renewable energies
In an interview with the Washington Post, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Monday that he believed the current situation in Europe was the first real global energy crisis the world is facing. – and could shape global energy for years to come.
“It can be a turning point,” Birol said, noting that governments responded to the oil shortage of the 1970s by making cars more fuel-efficient and investing in nuclear power. “I’m also hopeful that when the first global energy crisis ends, countries, not just states, will come up with new energy policies that accelerate clean energy transitions.”
Europe is already moving in this direction.
“It’s amazing how quickly Europeans have moved,” said Sam Ori, executive director of the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute. “They are rushing towards clean electricity.”
The Biden administration has done several things on its own: propose new regulations on vehicle emissions and methane; give the green light to offshore wind projects as well as onshore renewable energies; and take executive action on industrial emissions.
Still, Biden hasn’t been able to push much of his clean energy and climate agenda through Congress so far, and experts say he doesn’t have much hope of getting through Congress. achieve its emissions targets without it.
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told CNN on Wednesday that the current global energy crisis should prompt Congress to act as soon as possible.
“Now is the time for Congress to be able to act,” Granholm told CNN at a clean energy event on Wednesday. “There may be compromise. There may be movement on this. Ultimately, this is a time for this to happen; this is an urgent time.”
This is where the harmony on energy ends.
Instead of just drilling for more oil and gas, Biden administration officials and many Democrats in Congress have long argued that passing billions in tax credits for electric vehicles and renewables is a key way to relieve the United States of its dependence on foreign oil, and will help protect the country against future gas price shocks.
Beyond the future of US clean energy legislation, other questions remain. Russia is also a major exporter of metals needed for electric vehicles and clean energy technologies, which could hamper the transition to electric vehicles.
The fate of Biden’s climate policy — and how quickly the United States can transition to clean energy — largely depends on Manchin’s vote. There’s still no real legislative package that’s been agreed upon, and Biden and congressional Democrats realistically have the spring and summer to push a Democrat-only bill through Congress before the election. midterms cannot upset the balance of power in Washington.
Larsen said that while market forces like high oil prices could push consumers away from gas-powered cars and toward electric vehicles, massive federal investments in electric vehicles and clean energy would still be needed. .
“If these higher prices last for a while, they will help make the case for the acceleration of the transition that we see with wind and solar, but it is not the same as political support for achieve that,” Larsen said. “Building back better and [clean energy] tax credits, all of that would bring in 10 times more than those high prices.”
CNN’s Angela Dewan contributed to this report.
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