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A Wartime Imperative to Speed Up Decarbonization

There are many ways to change the energy future using technology, finance, planning and permission, public perception, and policy

A container ship docked beyond storage tanks at a liquefied natural gas terminal at the Port of Rotterdam.

A container ship docked beyond storage tanks at a liquefied natural gas terminal at the Port of Rotterdam.

Photographer: Peter Boer/Bloomberg

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed Europe’s landscape when it comes to energy security, trade, and deep decarbonization. When I first wrote about this two weeks ago, I called it “The shock of the old, and the promise of the new.” Another way to consider the change is as an open window — specifically the Overton Window, a model for understanding the range of ideas the public is willing to consider and accept. That window is capable of shifting, sometimes dramatically, allowing acceptance of ideas that might have previously seemed outlandish.