ThinkTankWeekly

Climate and energy summit 2026

Chatham House | 2026-02-22 | energy

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English Summary

Chatham House argues that climate action and the energy transition now face a more volatile geopolitical and economic context, where rivalry, securitization, and domestic political pressures could derail progress. The conference framing highlights interacting risks: worsening climate impacts, fragile supply chains, resource competition (especially for critical minerals), and linked stresses in water, biodiversity, and land use that can create new dependencies and inequalities. Its reasoning is that these pressures are converging across global governance, markets, and local societies, making “business as usual” strategies inadequate. The strategic implication is that governments, firms, and civil society need coordinated, multi-stakeholder approaches that integrate energy security, affordability, and justice with broader resource-resilience planning.

中文摘要

查塔姆研究所(Chatham House)指出,氣候行動與能源轉型正面臨更為動盪的地緣政治與經濟環境;在此情勢下,大國競爭、安全化傾向與國內政治壓力,可能使進展偏離正軌。該會議框架強調多重風險的交互作用:氣候衝擊惡化、供應鏈脆弱、資源競逐(尤其是關鍵礦產),以及水資源、生物多樣性與土地利用之間相互連動的壓力,這些因素可能進一步形成新的依賴關係與不平等。其核心論證為,這些壓力正同時在全球治理、市場與地方社會層面匯聚,使「一切照舊」的策略已不足以因應。其戰略意涵在於,政府、企業與公民社會需採取協調一致、跨利害關係人的治理途徑,將能源安全、可負擔性與正義,納入更廣泛的資源韌性規劃之中。

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