Russia May Be Carbon’s Last Refuge
The top fossil fuel exporter can’t afford to fumble its transition to a greener era. So far, all the wrong survival instincts are kicking in.
Oil pumping jacks near Neftekamsk, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergSecond in a four-part series on oil-dependent economies and their transition to a zero-carbon future. Read part one on Saudi Arabia here, part three on Nigeria here, and the final section on Canada here.
When it comes to the energy transition, Russia is like Wile E. Coyote: suspended in mid-air. Reassured by today’s prices and all too aware that tinkering with hydrocarbon production carries political risk, Moscow has pushed back inevitable change. It has obfuscated climate conversations and dismissed the idea of a wholesale shift to a greener future as a Western conceit. Unfortunately, as the plunging Looney Tunes cartoon canine knows, it’s a strategy that can only work for so long.