By Patricia Cohen
Oil and gas prices are likely to remain inflated for years given the uneven transition to cleaner energy sources, the head of the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.
The push to end dependence on Russian oil and gas, coupled with efforts to battle climate change, has bumped up the pace of investments in green technology. But the increases “are not enough to replace fossil fuels,” said Fatih Birol, the agency’s executive director, which “may mean we will still see high and volatile energy prices for some time to come.”
In Africa, soaring energy and food prices last year caused the number of people without access to electricity to grow by 25 million, or 4 percent, Mr. Birol said, reversing a decade of progress. The likelihood that European governments will have to introduce some energy rationing this winter is also increasing, he said.