Geopolitical risks threaten transition

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underscored how energy can be weaponised in times of conflict

A new era of geopolitical conflict poses a challenge for the energy transition by making cooperation on global challenges more difficult, delegates heard at an energy and climate tech conference in Tokyo in early October. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underscored how energy can be weaponised in times of conflict, with Moscow cutting off gas supplies to Europe and the US responding with record LNG flows to European terminals. In east Asia, China could impose a maritime blockade of Taiwan to starve the self-ruled island of critical energy supplies, US military officials warn. “One of the beautiful things about the geopolitical landscape from the end of the Cold War up until recently was the