The Russian coal industry in an uncertain world: Finally pivoting to Asia?

Despite the urgent need to reduce coal consumption to mitigate climate change, coal has received renewed interest as a source of energy due to the perfect storm of climate, health, geopolitical and energy crises. Post-COVID recovery boosted global coal production and Asian coal consumption. Because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, coal saw a rise in demand in Europe to replace sanctioned natural gas and oil. Combined with volatile prices, these developments highlight profound uncertainties for the world's coal exporters. This paper focuses on Russia, which so far has been the world's largest fossil fuel exporter and third-largest coal exporter and where the coal sector is the backbone of several regional economies and local communities. Using the Triple Embeddedness Framework (TEF), the paper reviews internal and external pressures on the Russian coal industry and evaluates its capacity to adapt to the rapidly changing socio-political and techno-economic environment. Russian coal exporters have attempted to accelerate their shift to the East following the European Union's sanctions over the war in Ukraine and the Russian coal infrastructure is being expanded to serve the Asia-Pacific market. The analysis concludes that the Russian coal industry is not preparing for more long-term changes in international coal markets, and this exacerbates the magnitude of risks for local communities and regional economies within Russia as well as for global decarbonisation.

Covid-19 and the politics of sustainable energy transitions.

In this perspectives piece, an interdisciplinary team of social science researchers considers the implications of Covid-19 for the politics of sustainable energy transitions. The emergency measures adopted by states, firms, and individuals in response to this global health crisis have driven a series of political, economic and social changes with potential to influence sustainable energy transitions. We identify some of the initial impacts of the 'great lockdown' on sustainable and fossil sources of energy, and consider how economic stimulus packages and social practices in the wake of the pandemic are likely to shape energy demand, the carbon-intensity of the energy system, and the speed of transitions. Adopting a broad multi-scalar and multi-actor approach to the analysis of energy system change, we highlight continuities and discontinuities with pre-pandemic trends. Discussion focuses on four key themes that shape the politics of sustainable energy transitions: (i) the short, medium and long-term temporalities of energy system change; (ii) practices of investment around clean-tech and divestment from fossil fuels; (iii) structures and scales of energy governance; and (iv) social practices around mobility, work and public health. While the effects of the pandemic continue to unfold, some of its sectoral and geographically differentiated impacts are already emerging. We conclude that the politics of sustainable energy transitions are now at a critical juncture, in which the form and direction of state support for post-pandemic economic recovery will be key.