As a global energy crisis returns, the UK push for a green economy makes even more sense

The Teesside wind turbine farm at the mouth of the River Tees. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

Earlier this year, the world economy had a lucky escape. After a mild winter in Europe, energy prices were in retreat as the continent shifted away from Russian gas supplies. Inflation was cooling, while economic growth remained resilient.

“Hello lower gas prices, bye-bye recession,” analysts at the US investment bank JP Morgan wrote in January. Less than a year later, the Israel-Hamas war serves as a stark warning that the global energy crisis has far from vanished.