The ongoing world energy crisis, which began in 2021 and has caused record price spikes for oil, natural gas and coal — in combination with Russia’s war on Ukraine — seems to have proven for once and all that energy independence is a matter of national security. Both Europe and the US have recently had to relearn this lesson — yet again — when Russian President Vladimir Putin cut gas supplies to a number of European countries after they refused to pay in Russian rubles — and before that, when the West was confronted with the need to sanction Russian oil and gas exports, while at the same time being dependent on them.
US President Joe Biden let nearly two weeks go by after Putin invaded Ukraine, before announcing that he would finally ban US imports of Russian oil, natural gas and coal, which, until then, had been helping to pay for Putin’s war on Ukraine. In 2021, 36% of Russian government revenues came from the sale of oil and gas.
