Climate Security Is Energy Security Is National Security

Feb 25, 2022 | James Murray
View Original

There can be no doubt that petrostates feel squeezed by the global agreements to decarbonise and the threat clean technologies pose to the revenue streams that keep them in power. They can respond to this pressure in one of two ways (or a combination of both): meaningfully accelerating the diversification of their economies; or grabbing and hording as much power as they can before fossil fuel revenues start to dwindle.

As Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine sparks chaos on the global energy markets the need for a clean tech revolution has never been clearer. Because, if governments and businesses respond rationally to this crisis (admittedly a big if) they will combine a ratcheting up of defence capabilities in recognition of an increasingly volatile and dangerous world with a full bore effort to end fossil fuel reliance and hasten the implosion of Russia's extractive economy.