The interconnection of the two global crises is defined by a"crisis triangle” namely climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the deep uncertainty and conflict triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict
"Some 75 million people who recently gained access to electricity are likely to lose the ability to pay for it, meaning that for the first time since we started tracking it, the total number of people worldwide without electricity access has started to rise,” the agency noted.The energy industry, like all other industries, is operating in an uncertain environment. Globally, the prices of oil were rising even prior to the acceleration caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
However, the invasion has triggered a series of sanctions imposed by major powers such as the European Union and the United States that included restrictions on Russia's financial industry, as well as its coal and oil exports, on top of general export controls. "But we are gravitating towards an equilibrium that should keep suppliers and consumers happy. Still, the major risk for oil and gas consumers is that we will be in a perpetual war on the Eastern front,” Innes told Bernama.
"Any change on the Eastern Front, both oil and gas prices will trade substantially lower,” added Innes. These factors had led coal prices to soar. On Sept 6, spot physical coal loaded at Australia’s Newcastle port was priced at US$436.71 a tonne on Friday, an all-time high.