The world is being shaken by a collision of energy needs, climate change, and clashes between

nations in a time of global crisis, made much worse by Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine.

Roaring inflation has shocked consumers, the Biden administration, and other governments around the world.

This is Let's Find Common Ground. I'm Ashley Mel Tite.

I'm Richard Davies. In this episode, a new way to look at energy. We discuss the rapidly changing

challenges of global and national security, plus the reasons behind President Biden's latest

visit to Saudi Arabia, Europe's growing dependence on U.S. oil and natural gas,

and the threats to the West from Russia and China.

Our guest is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Daniel Jürgen, one of the world's

most highly respected thinkers on international politics, economics, and energy.

His latest book is The New Map, Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations.

Daniel Jürgen, welcome back to Let's Find Common Ground. Glad to be with you again on Common Ground.

Since we last spoke late last year, the energy map has changed a lot. Let's start with the most

dramatic piece of news, which was Russia's assault on Ukraine in late February.

Oil and gas prices were already heading up before the invasion, but the war has made things worse.

In what ways? I think it's important to understand that, indeed, we were already in a global

energy crisis last autumn when we talked the first time. Europeans were paying five, six times as

much for imported natural gas, as they had in the past. Energy markets were very tight.

The U.S. administration was already worried about high gasoline prices, and then came February 24th,

and one of the world's energy superpowers invaded Ukraine, and of course that is meant that

really we now have a combo of a global energy crisis and a global geopolitical crisis,

and it's introduced new turbulence and certainly sent prices up and added to this sense of

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