Vladimir Putin expected and needed a quick and decisive victory in Ukraine. The unity of the USA, U.K., EU and NATO combined with the resilience and courage of Ukrainians and their president has kept him from achieving that goal.
In another context, John McCain has been quoted as saying Putin “does not have an economy; he has a gas station.” A large portion of the Russian economy is dependent on that “gas station.” So closing that down may have the unexpected and positive side effect of hastening the world’s move to clean, renewable fuels.
This ruthless invasion of a sovereign nation brings front and center the fact that the environmental degradation resulting from the extraction and burning of fossil fuels is a major national security problem for all nations. That is especially true for the “westernized” advanced countries.
Germany’s halt on the final permitting of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and BP’s pullout from its 20% ownership (about a $14 billion stake) in Rosneft may be as or even more effective than other massive sanctions in dealing Putin a body blow that really hurts. The Russian government owns about 40% of Rosneft. Rosneft produces one-third of Russia’s gas and oil, and it is chaired by Igor Sechin, a longtime Putin supporter.
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report reinforces the fact that global warming has already baked in some changes and that the window of opportunity to mitigate the worst effects of a rising global temperature is closing faster than earlier predicted. The positive takeaway is that we humans still have an opportunity to dramatically change the outcome if we have the political will.
The world needs to understand that climate-forward policies and investments will make all of us safer from the Putins of the world. Let’s be sure that Congress does the bipartisan work necessary to get a climate-action bill enacted. Let’s make America a major player that puts Putin’s gas station out of business. Let’s make this war in Ukraine the last one fueled by fossil fuels.
Patricia W. Frey
Dagsboro
