The Aspen Institute

It has been a tumultuous year in energy, in large part due to the global energy crisis — which was already underway because of the COVID-19 pandemic (and many other factors) before being amplified by the invasion of Ukraine. This is the first truly global energy crisis, affecting all energy commodities and almost every region of the world. This is also the first crisis of the U.S. age of energy abundance, reminding the United States that even as a net exporter of energy, it is still acutely vulnerable to geopolitical shocks. In addition, this is the first crisis of the energy transition, though the crisis was not caused by the transition. In response to the global crisis, the United States has worked to help allies reduce dependence on Russian energy and has become the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the world. Demand in these turbulent times must be met while simultaneously ensuring that policy and financial resources are dedicated at scale to systemic change in order to achieve decarbonization. The chaos of the crisis could turn out to be an opportunity to accelerate the energy transition.