For over a decade, Western policymakers have prioritized renewable energy as the primary path to decarbonization at the expense of oil and gas development. More than $6 trillion has been invested in intermittent wind and solar around the world to produce about 5.3% of global power demand. Oil and gas, on the other hand, suffered under-investment as ESG covenants raised fears of stranded assets and failed projects (MEES, 26 April 2024).
That has begun to change as a resurgence in gas demand forces a rethink of climate policies that may in fact have caused more emissions rather than less. Shifting energy flows caused by the conflict in Ukraine, and the race to electrify energy systems for modern digital economies has brought gas back to the center of global energy systems. (CONTINUED - 1070 WORDS)
