Acute energy insecurity threatens much of the world right now. But there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel in the hardest-hit developed economy, Europe, where countries are putting in place measures to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas, and avoid labour strikes. South Africa, however, is not showing anywhere near the same level of determination to turn around its dire situation.
The International Energy Agency defines energy security as "the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price" - and the world is fast moving to the other end of the spectrum, where acute energy insecurity threatens to undermine the already shaky foundations of the global economy.
Governments around the world are grappling with how to cope with constrained supply, with Europe in effect at ground zero as countries in the region race to reduce their dependence on Russian energy sources without plunging the Eurozone into recession.
In South Africa, we're also in the thick of it. Decades of underinvestment and corruption, and now strikes, threaten a complete shutdown of the entire power grid. Also, fuel prices have doubled in a year, putting disposable incomes under tremendous pressure.
A US Congressman encapsulated...
