By Arthur Deakin
This year, the world has become aware of a global energy shortage as well as the irreversible damage of climate change. Throughout Europe, gas prices have tripled due to a fall in inventory meeting a fast-recovering global economy. Reduced wind power, which accounts for roughly 10% of Europe’s power generation, and droughts in Latin America, where hydropower accounts for 60% of power generation, have exacerbated the situation. China’s central government, fearful of blackouts during the coming winter, has ordered state-owned companies to secure energy supplies at all costs.
As governments and consumers seek to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the current energy crisis is clashing with a growing call for the end of new fossil fuel investments. The International Energy Agency (IEA) stated in a recent flagship report that no new oil & gas fields, as well as coal mines, are necessary in its net zero pathway. Countries dependent on the exploration of fossil fuels for employment, foreign reserves, and investment, winced at the statement. Newer oil players who have recently found billions of barrels of oil, such as Guyana and Suriname, also snapped back.