The global energy crunch has many causes. One thing it shows, though, is that decarbonisation and the transition to renewable energy will be much more complex and difficult than many have assumed. However, it would be a tragedy if the current crisis, most likely transitory, is to cause a backlash against hard-won policy consensus among major economies to reverse global warming in the decades ahead. In this, only global cooperation can tackle the problems. Governments of the world will have their work cut out at the upcoming COP26 United Nations climate change talks starting in Glasgow, Scotland, at the end of this month. The reopening of economies as the Covid-19 pandemic recedes has pushed up energy demand and tied up supply chains around the world. The European Union’s push for renewables has arguably been too successful. It has convinced many economies in Asia, including China and India, to phase out the use of coal. Now, those same countries, but especially China, are competing for the same sources of liquefied natural gas (LNG). No wonder gas prices are at an all-time high, oil prices at a three-year peak and coal prices soaring. China, India and Germany are experiencing energy shortages. China has had to ration power supply across more than half the country and to stockpile domestic coal and gas reserves. Its energy crisis has affected production and exports, and is having ripple effects across the globe. The global elites are headed to Scotland for COP26 Carmakers such as Toyota, iPhone producer Apple, Australian sheep farmers and makers of cardboard boxes are feeling the impact. There is a silver lining though. To tackle electricity shortages that have crippled industrial output, Beijing will fully liberalise the regulated market for electricity generated from coal so that industrial and commercial users will buy power at market prices. That will, hopefully, enhance energy efficiency. Meanwhile, the global demand surge is not only driven by recovering economies but also anticipated extreme weather across Europe and northeast Asia. In their advocacy for renewables as “a transition energy”, the European and British governments have pushed up demand for gas and snapped investors’ interest in maintaining coal production. Now people in continental Europe and Britain are paying at least five times more for natural gas that heats their homes in winter than a year ago. Politics aside, Russia has promised to increase gas supply to Europe. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) says it will step up production. But there needs to be reciprocity and cooperation for all major economies to save people from hardships and convince them of the need for energy efficiency and responsibility for future generations. Despite our enmities, this crisis once again shows we are all in this together.