The Opec+ alliance of oil producers has committed to enforcing deep production cuts for two years. When those restrictions are eventually lifted on 1 May 2022, the world may look a very different place. The question is, will those producers simply return to the previous status quo?

Recent years have seen the energy transition gather momentum, and the steep collapse in oil and gas consumption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has understandably led to many decrying a simple return to business as usual once the recovery begins. The IEA’s Executive Director Fatih Birol says “governments can learn from that experience by putting clean energy technologies – renewables, efficiency, batteries, hydrogen and carbon capture – at the heart of their plans for economic recovery.” (CONTINUED - 959 WORDS)