A funny bit; I pasted in the link to see if it would embed the story, and it did! Sort of. It put the title as a hyperlink, as you can see below. I was sorely tempted to just leave it there like that, because what a witty title on its own! Then everyone could either be curious enough to click (it’s not too long to read,) or go ahead and post it all.
Here’s a snippet, because the photo should be seen on the page, and JSTOR is generous and deserves a click now and then:
By: Aissa Dearing and Michaela Rychetska October 10, 2024 4 minutes
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has fundamentally altered Europe’s geopolitical landscape, with profound implications for its energy security. The invasion exposed Europe’s vulnerabilities, particularly its heavy reliance on Russian oil and natural gas. This has repositioned energy security as a central concern, with Russia seen as a significant threat to the stability and reliability of Europe’s energy supply chains. In response, Europe has taken decisive action to reduce its energy imports from Russia. In May 2022, the European Council agreed to ban almost 90 percent of Russian oil imports—with the notable exception of pipeline crude oil—complemented by stringent sanctions aimed at weakening Russia’s economic leverage. Does this shift suggest that the European Union’s transition to renewable energy is accelerating, not solely for climate reasons, but to achieve energy sovereignty amidst a geopolitical crisis?
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has indeed catalyzed a unified European reassessment of energy dependence on Russia, prompting collective efforts to diversify energy sources and bolster energy security. As security studies scholar Marc Ozawa notes, Western European countries historically framed their reliance on Russian energy within the context of market transactions and economic interests, a legacy of the oil shocks during the 1970s OPEC crisis. In this light, reliance on Russian energy was, in some respects, a strategic response to earlier crises. (snip)
The transition to an energy sovereign economy cannot solely focus on implementing renewable energy—it requires more than technological advancements—it necessitates profound socioeconomic shifts and a reevaluation of the traditional monopolistic energy business model. A just transition, as scholars Elianor Gerrard and Peter Westoby emphasize, is “the idea that the burdens of decarbonization—such as job losses from the closing of the fossil fuel industry or the high costs of clean technologies—should not unfairly impact any one group.” Achieving this transition involves developing policies that are both pragmatic and ethically sound, ensuring that the shift to a low-carbon economy goes beyond labor market adjustments. At its core, a just transition seeks to reconcile environmental protection with the need to protect vulnerable communities long reliant on fossil fuels. The decarbonization process cannot succeed without prioritizing these communities, providing workforce development for fossil fuel workers, and supporting decentralized, community-owned renewable technologies with adequate storage capacities. Existing electric technologies and grid infrastructure shouldn’t become stranded in this process but be retrofitted to ensure efficiency and multilateral grid cooperation.
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