Event
The World Today | Oil Markets and the Geopolitics of Energy
Perry World House 3803 Locust Walk
Presented by the Perry World House, this edition of The World Today will examine the politics of global energy pricing. How should countries respond to volatile and rising energy prices and associated inflation? How can they protect their domestic priorities? How will countries manage geopolitical relations amid an energy crisis?
Pandemic-related policies and supply chain disruptions, followed by Russia's war in Ukraine, have sent energy prices skyrocketing, and a global game of energy chess has ensued. Sanctions against Russia and growing energy demand after the economic slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in a European energy crisis, exacerbated by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) October resolution to cut oil production to "stem a tide of volatility in energy prices" and keep prices high.
Beyond the oil and gas shortages, the impact on prices affects not just international relations between countries but also their domestic affairs. Major economic powers like Britain and the US are seeing their elections impacted and their efforts to fight climate change derailed. Globally, discontent and unrest—driven partly by energy prices—are rising.
Panelists
Angela Pachon, Research Director, Kleinman Center for Energy Policy
Robert Vitalis, Professor of Political Science
Benjamin L. Schmitt, Research Associate and Project Development Scientist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Moderated by
Michael Weisberg, Bess W. Heyman President's Distinguished Professor and Chair of Philosophy