CLIMATE HOUR — Despite desperate efforts by the oil industry and its captive U.S. government, the epoch of oil is collapsing. Even if we ignore the cheaper and more sustainable power provided by wind and solar energy, the world’s oil reserves are expected to dry up by 2050, leaving us no choice but to transition to new sources of energy. But most of the world isn’t waiting. Over the past decade clean energy investment has increased ten-fold. In 2025, clean energy investment was more than double that of fossil fuels. And renewables have now exceeded coal as the world’s top provider of electricity.
With the exception of the United States, Russia and a few Gulf states dependent upon oil production, the world is rushing to embrace renewable energy. And recent events are accelerating that transition. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led the E.U. to end its dependency on Russian oil. U.S. military actions in Venezuela and Iran have destabilized oil prices, leading to major cost-shock for the consumers that make cheap, safe renewables ever more attractive.
António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, recently stated that, “We have entered the age of clean energy.” And that, “Those who lead this transition will lead the global economy of the future.”
Historians report that the British Empire ended when coal was replaced by oil, leading to the rise of the oil-rich United States. We can equally argue that the end of oil may lead to the collapse of an oil-obsessed America. Will current U.S. energy policy make America great again, or is it making America go away.
Join host, Bob Grove, and Jonathan Watts, Global Environment Writer for the Guardian News and founder of Sumaúma.com, to discuss the Collapse of the American Epoch of Oil.
Guest
Mr Watts is the founder of the Rainforest Journalism Fund and the China Environmental Press Awards. His most recent book is The Many Lives of James Lovelock: Science, Secrets and Gaia Theory. Jonathan is a recipient of the 2018 and 2019 SEAL Environmental Journalism Awards.
Read Mr Watt’s article, The American Epoch Of Oil Is Collapsing: What Comes Next Could Be Ugly, HERE.
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