Last year was the beginning of the green transition. For almost half a century, the world has been talking about ending dependence on fossil fuels. Yet year after year we remain tied to the same old, dirty energy system. The consequences of this delay are upon us, and the climate crisis is knocking at our door. Over 33 million people have been affected by extreme rainfall in Pakistan this year, turning some communities into lakes. In Florida, USA, Hurricane Yan caused over $50 billion in damage, making it the second costliest hurricane in the nation’s history. In the western United States, drought has dried up nearly three-quarters of the country’s two largest water bodies. Looking back over the last 10 years, we can find that 2022 was a turning point. New policies in the US and Europe, as well as elections in Australia and Brazil, are creating momentum for the clean energy transition. If moving away from polluting energy is like changing the course of a giant ship, then 2022 could be the year that world leaders start changing course.

The energy transition sounds smooth and coordinated. But in a year of brutal war that rocked the world’s energy markets, we realized that change would not happen that way, but rather be on a bumpy and energetically turbulent path. If we look at the periods when the energy system changed dramatically, whether it was 1979 or 2022, then there is a clear pattern – this is a crisis. When energy supplies become scarce and fossil fuel prices skyrocket, governments respond. The answers may be a temporary patch, i.e. price cuts in the short term, but without doing what it takes to wean yourself off polluting energy. Maybe they could do something like a very big operation, fundamentally changing the energy infrastructure. These are the last changes that really matter because they are harder to undo. After more than thirty years of unsuccessful efforts, the US Congress has passed a series of climate bills aimed specifically at this infrastructure. The most important law, the inflation de-escalation law, provides for almost $370 billion to be invested in green economic activities. Most of the funding will come through unlimited household tax credits on everything from electric cars and solar panels to heat pumps that run on electricity rather than natural gas.

At first it seemed that this flock would not be able to cross the finish line. Finally, high energy prices created the conditions for action. According to one estimate, rising fossil fuel prices are responsible for 41% of inflation in the United States. The law will also be difficult to repeal, even if Republicans get a chance to govern in the future, because it creates well-paying jobs in America. Private companies have invested more than $100 billion in electric vehicles, charging infrastructure and solar power. In addition, many new jobs will appear in Republican states and counties. Finally, at a BMW event in October, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said his state would “become the Detroit of batteries.”

* Ms. Leah Stokes is a political scientist and lecturer at the University of California.