Friday marks one year since Russia invaded Ukraine, triggering an energy crisis that has deepened the divide between rich and poor nations and reinforced global inequities supercharged by climate change. Europe, which relied reliantly on Russian natural gas, was expected to freeze after the war broke out. Instead, poorer Asian countries are scrounging for fuel, after natural gas suppliers rerouted Asia-bound cargoes to European markets, write POLITICO’s E&E News reporters Benjamin Storrow and Sara Schonhardt. Some of those nations have resorted to burning more coal, while others have endured electric blackouts. Meanwhile, with its energy crisis at bay, Europe has returned to enacting its ambitious plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions and green its economy. The U.S., meanwhile, saw a surge in gasoline prices that prompted President Joe Biden to urge oil producers to increase production — while he also laid the groundwork for a vast expansion of wind and solar power. This scenario isn’t an isolated incident. Countries that can afford to pay rising prices are buying up energy resources and preparing for the climate emergency. Countries that can’t pony up are slipping backward into the grip of dirtier fuels, or going dark. “There will be greater gaps between countries,” Jane Nakano, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Benjamin and Sara. Rich nations, which emit the most carbon pollution (looking at you, United States and China), are likely to continue accelerating their low-carbon transition. Poorer countries, meanwhile, may become more reliant on fossil fuels to ensure energy access for their growing populations, while also bearing the brunt of climate change. This trend does not bode well for slashing carbon from the atmosphere. And it shows. Global pollution from fossil fuels approached an all-time high last year as countries scrambled for supplies of coal, oil and natural gas to power their economies. The peak comes as the clock ticks on global climate efforts. Based on current projections, the world has nine years until the rise in global temperatures eclipses 1.5 degrees Celsius (which is bad) and 30 years until temperatures pass 2 C (which is very, very bad). During international climate talks in Egypt last year, nations agreed to help poorer countries, which have contributed the least to global warming, transition to low-carbon fuels. But questions remain about how effective such efforts will be.
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