Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed the European energy equation—now efficiency is just as important as sustainability 

For years, Europe could afford to treat the energy transition primarily as a question of sustainability. A cheap and relatively secure gas supply meant the economics and security of energy could largely be taken for granted. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed that equation. 

“Before the Russia-Ukraine war, the security of gas coming in and the cost of using it was so low; the risk was just not there,” says Anant Maheshwari, president of strategy and global regions at the $66 billion market cap industrial automation company Honeywell Technologies. “Now, it may not be available, and if it is available, it’s at a high cost.” 

That has changed the terms of the energy transition. Europe can no longer think about decarbonization separately from the cost and security of the energy needed to power its economy. The challenge now is to build an energy system that is simultaneously cleaner, affordable, and secure—and to do so without undermining the competitiveness of European industry. 

China has been particularly effective at doing this, in Maheshwari’s view. The country has its own energy security constraints and, beyond coal, does not control many of the traditional sources of energy it relies upon. Its response has been to invest rapidly across a broad mix of technologies, from solar and wind to biofuels, sustainable aviation fuel, and carbon capture, while also improving energy efficiency. 

“China understands that they have an energy security problem,” says Maheshwari. “They are very clear that they’re not going to create a new source of fuel, so it has to be generated in a way that’s sustainable. And therefore they’re doing everything with the notion of sustainable technology, but focusing on security and economics.”  

What distinguishes China, he argues, is not simply the scale of its investment but the breadth and speed of deployment. “They have the widest range of technology applications, at pace and scale,” he says. 

Brazil offers a different model. Maheshwari sees the country as a frontrunner in biofuels, drawing on........

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