The Russia-Ukraine war and the shock to energy prices may accelerate parts of the global energy transition. But short-term policies in the United States and Europe to subsidize fossil fuel consumption -- combined with the damage the ongoing conflict will cause to collaboration between the West and China -- will ultimately undermine the international response to climate change. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, a number of governments have announced strategies to deal with rising energy prices and potential shortages due to sanctions. Those strategies have frequently involved implementing price caps or tax cuts to alleviate the financial pain for households and companies. Many of these strategies have also included doubling down on coal, the cheapest (and dirtiest) fossil fuel. Meanwhile, the European Union and others have called for an acceleration of the energy transition and a gradual reduction of fossil fuel consumption in response to what will likely...
