David Helvarg and Jason Scorse
March 2, 2022
On Monday, a day Russian rockets and artillery were falling on Ukrainian towns and cities, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change put out its most alarming report to date, warning that fossil fuel driven climate change has already “led to some irreversible impacts as natural and human systems are pushed beyond their ability to adapt.”
The immediacy of war reminds us that there is still evil intent in the world. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is certainly the most brazen and unprovoked act of state aggression in Europe since World War II. Along with surprisingly strong Ukrainian resistance, we’ve seen much of the world mobilize to impose major sanctions targeting Russian banks, Vladimir Putin’s wealth and that of the oligarchs who support him.
Yet, when the Biden administration first announced these sweeping sanctions, many analysts noted the huge exception for energy-related financing. This means that any transactions involving Russian fossil fuel exports — the core of the Russian economy — remain exempt from sanctions.
Read more of this San Francisco Chronicle article here.

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