This week, world leaders are traveling to Egypt for COP27, the annual UN conference dedicated to addressing rising global emissions and climate change.
This year’s conference comes at a time when global energy markets are the most unsettled they’ve been in years due to the war in Ukraine and rising prices, and that stands to factor into the conference’s focus. As Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, noted today, “climate security goes hand in hand with energy security.”
The U.S. faces its own challenges addressing both its energy security and the effects of climate change.
This spring, President Biden announced the release of one million barrels a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) to help offset rising gas prices. As a result, the SPR is at its lowest levels in nearly four decades. That leaves America more reliant on gas from Saudi Arabia and other foreign sources and more vulnerable in the event of future supply disruptions or natural disasters.
Meanwhile, polling has found 60% of voters from across the political spectrum are in favor of taking commonsense actions to cut back on emissions, like constructing clean energy infrastructure and supporting energy efficiency technology.
