Amid War in Ukraine, I.E.A. Warns Nations of Global Energy Crisis

In the United States, one of the few calls for conservation has come from Mitch Roth, the mayor of the County of Hawaii, which is particularly vulnerable to skyrocketing energy prices in the wake of President Biden’s banning of Russian oil, gas and coal. The state of Hawaii has relied heavily on Russian fuel, and its high cost of living has many families already struggling to pay their bills. So Mr. Roth turned to what he saw as a common sense solution: asking his community to use less oil and gas.

“We’re not mandating anything,” said Mr. Roth, who has jurisdiction over the island of Hawaii, known as the Big Island. “But for the betterment of your checkbook, for the betterment of our community, for the betterment of our country and for the betterment of our world, it makes a lot of sense.”

Mr. Biden has urged oil companies to step up production to keep up with demand, and his energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, delivered the message personally to fossil fuel executives gathered in Houston last week.

In the long term, administration officials maintain, the United States must make a transition away from fossil fuels and develop more solar, wind and other clean energy sources.

“We know we cannot drill our way out of dependence on a global commodity controlled in part by foreign nations and their leaders, which is why the administration is determined to speed up — not slow down — our transition to a clean energy future,” said Charisma Troiano, a spokeswoman for Ms. Granholm.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/18/climate/global-energy-crisis-conserve.html