Russia-Ukraine Crisis and Energy Insecurity: Is energy transition a sustainable alternate?

Abstract

Phenomena like globalization and interdependence shape the contemporary world. The outbreak of Russia-Ukraine crisis instigated a wave of alarm amongst the global leaders due to a high risk of the war’s potential consequences on the entire world. As the crisis intensified, it started taking economic, political and energy domains under its spur. On one hand, west imposed sanctions on Russian economic and energy firms, i.e., Gazprom. Being an energy giant, Russia utilized its energy resources as a tool to respond to the western sanctions. Nord Stream I and Nord Stream II pipelines were shut down. Hence, triggering an energy crisis in states like UK, Germany, France etc. Coupled with harsh winter, hike in energy bills and food prices etc. has had both social and economic ramifications. To curb this energy security dilemma, European states have undertaken several steps including signing deals with countries like Norway, Azerbaijan and Qatar. Energy transition is yet another option at the table for EU member states to consider to deal with this crisis. This research paper will discuss the significance of Russian energy resources, the European energy crisis that has been instigated as a result of Russia-Ukraine conflict, the implications of this crisis, attempts of European countries to deal with it. This paper will also highlight the phenomena of energy transition and whether it can serve as a sustainable and self-reliant substitute for Russian energy resources or not.