This week's meeting between the leaders of the Group of seven (G7) countries was always going to be dominated by the crisis in Ukraine. But, as the G7 leaders condemn Russia's "use of energy supplies as a means of political coercion" they are calling for energy security and the diversification of energy supplies.
In the first meeting without Russia in 17 years, what do they really mean? They mean European independence from Russian gas supplies, and they mean to replace like for like.
The international climate talks resume in Bonn this week, two months after climate scientists warned of climate change-related risks from extreme events. The world is already experiencing man-made climate change, including here in Europe, and a dangerous addiction to fossil fuels is to blame.
"The world is already experiencing man-made climate change, including here in Europe, and a dangerous addiction to fossil fuels is to blame"
Yet, in this context, politicians seem to be turning a blind eye to the glaringly obvious. Under the guise of energy security, G7 leaders are pushing a corporate-driven agenda to replace Russian gas with even dirtier sources of energy like shale gas, which will either be pushed through against local opposition in Europe or expensively imported in the form of liquefied natural gas from the United States.
This would be on top of current imports, costing Europe hundreds of billions of euros every year, of dangerous fossil fuels which contribute to climate change. One fifth of all Europe's imports consist of energy products with this dependency set to increase. Energy security doesn't mean switching from one external supplier to another. Europe can and should break this dependency by looking to its own sustainable energy resources.
The EU's proposal for its climate and energy targets for 2030 – the 'EU 2030 package' – may be completely inadequate, and leave a 50/50 chance of catastrophic climate change, but they at least recognise that business as usual is no longer an option if we want to tackle the problem.
But, there is a distinct possibility that the Ukrainian crisis will be misused to fast-track further fossil fuel development in Europe and elsewhere. This is not only business as usual, it's dangerous, and will undermine Europe's inadequate climate targets further –locking in fossil fuel use for decades and costing Europe billions more in imports.
G7 leaders must break their dependency on fossil fuels. The crisis in Ukraine is a wake-up call for Europe to reassess its energy mix, not to 'diversify' with more of the same, or worse.
"The crisis in Ukraine is a wake-up call for Europe to reassess its energy mix, not to 'diversify' with more of the same, or worse"
The G7 is an opportunity for leadership on climate change. This means promoting genuine solutions, and pushing for adequate and just climate targets.
Energy security means breaking the stranglehold of fossil fuel imports and preventing further shale gas development. It means investing in energy efficiency, and developing our own clean, community-owned renewable energy resources.