A climate reset is underway and there are fresh signs that moving away from fossil fuels will go slower than many governments had hoped.
Analysts see a “decisive return to energy pragmatism” which is underway in key regions.
Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc CEO Sultan al-Jaber said it is time to make energy great again.
He said that instead of trying to curb energy consumption, world leaders should recognise the right of developing countries to affordable energy that will help them reach western levels of wealth.
Green energy stocks declined to levels last seen five years ago, as uncertainty over political support for the clean transition depresses the market. And that’s after hefty subsidies.
In general, energy transition is troubled. What has been unfolding is not so much an “energy transition” as an “energy addition.”
With global energy demand carrying on growing, rather than replacing conventional energy sources, the growth of renewables is coming on top of that of conventional sources.
Europe is redirecting billons of euros earmarked to fight climate change to its defense budget, a move which will have enormous global implications.
The German elections showed how far the green wave has receded in Europe. Climate action barely featured on the campaign trail.
On the other hand, climate scientists are sounding the alarm on US absence at key UN meetings. The absence of US federal scientists since the start of the second Trump administration has cast a shadow on these meetings.
The IEA urged investing in grids today to prevent gridlocks tomorrow. It emphasised the importance of expanding and modernising electricity transmission grids to respond to the growing demand for electricity.
In addition, the IEA warns that efforts to expand and modernise electricity grids is facing mounting challenges as supply chain bottlenecks intensify.
Green energy is being switched off as power systems fail to keep up, because there is not enough capacity to transport or store the electricity when demand is not high enough to use it straight away.
Professor Dieter Helms is accusing the UK government of ‘climate cakeism’. It is suggesting that economic growth and net zero emissions are easily achievable together, without net costs and people having to change our lifestyles. He is calling this misleading and dishonest.
A barrier to transition is high grid infrastructure costs. Overall, prices for cables have nearly doubled since 2019, and the price of power transformers rose by around 75%.
TotalEnergies’ CEO Patrick Pouyanné said that what the US decides on energy transition will be fundamental to the pace of the transition everywhere, even if Europe carries on regardless.
Finally, oil major Eni is opting for carbon capture and data centres in a boost to its transition strategy. It will create two new businesses focused on offering green AI computing power and capturing CO₂ emissions.
Dr Charles Ellinas is Councilor, Atlantic Council
