On this week’s episode of Smarter Markets, the first hosted by Abaxx Exchange Chief Economist David Greely, we welcome back Ann Rosenberg, SVP of Sustainability at Wood, and Member of World Economic Forum’s Advisory Network on Climate.

As the world’s economies begin to reopen and embrace the post-pandemic era, the energy industry is at a critical juncture. Energy shortages have already gripped Europe and Asia, with LNG spot prices having been driven to record highs. Is this the first major crisis of the energy transition?

While energy shortages and higher prices would normally motivate new investment, the present-day investor is reluctant to finance new fossil fuel projects; a hesitancy driven by both activist calls to decarbonize, and the net zero targets set out by world leaders.

Will the vision of a carbon-free future be lost to the practical reality of energy shortages as countries turn back to coal? Will the political and economic be asserted to drive forward investment in solar and wind projects? And how will the LNG markets navigate between our reliance on fossil fuel energy today and aspirations to transition to a low-carbon energy future?