The energy transition is not a hobby

April 12, 2022

The energy transition is not a hobby

Vivian Elion
April 12, 2022

The energy transition is not a hobby

With the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, we have to face the fact that our dependence on fossil fuels poses a structural problem.
Vivian Elion
April 12, 2022
Design by Zeynep Algan. © FreedomLab

The energy transition is not a hobby

April 12, 2022

With the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, we have to face the fact that our dependence on fossil fuels poses a structural problem. To some extent, the West can impose fossil fuel-related sanctions, as the US and U.K. are doing, but, for Europe, saying goodbye to all of Russia’s oil and gas supplies is a no-go. In the EU, Russia provides more than 40% of EU gas and coal and 25% of its crude oil and has little infrastructure and technology in place to import energy from other locations. The immediate response in the West is to try to source oil and gas elsewhere and to compensate domestic energy users for rising energy costs. Understandable as this may be, in the end it only shifts our dependence to other nations.

Instead, we should use this crisis to broaden the debate about our energy system and the transition to local and renewable sources. Instead of relying mostly on ideological arguments, focused on climate change or air pollution, the debate should take energy security and the resilience of our economies much more seriously. This is not to say that European policy makers were blind to the issue of energy security, but it has never taken up a central role in European public debates as it has done in the US. Consequently, investments in the energy transition were easily framed as leftist hobbies that had little to do with economic realism. By now, the realism of this crisis should open everyone’s eyes to the harsh necessity of moving away from fossil fuels.

Burning questions: 
  • Russian aggression has, so far, led to a sense of unity among Europeans. Can this sentiment be mobilized to spur investment in the energy transition?
  • What is the necessary no-regret policy we can adopt to compensate for energy poverty and low-income compensation? How will this affect the carbon emission reduction targets of the Paris Climate Agreement?
About the author(s)
With an eye on sustainability and societal well-being, Vivian specializes in the development and facilitation of solutions for fundamental sustainable transitions in society and the economy. Together with partners and clients within and outside the organization, she translates the FreedomLab framework on Deep Transitions to concrete workshop methods, business model innovations and investment opportunities. Vivian studied Global Business and Sustainability at Erasmus University Rotterdam, where she conducted research on how systems thinking and a paradox perspective can resolve conflicting tensions in corporate sustainability. Next to the development and operationalization of the framework, she is the driving force behind the creation of a sustainability strategy for all of Rasile Group's entities.‍
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