The Korea Times

Sustainable energy supply chain

From May 20, the Asian Leadership Conference (ALC) convened in Seoul. Often described as Korea’s answer to the Davos forum, the ALC gathers distinguished global leaders —ranging from former U.S. President George W. Bush to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — to survey major challenges facing society and to explore possible policy and practical solutions. For the past 10 years, I have organized and moderated the conference’s environment and energy session. This year, the conversation was dominated by risks to energy supply chains. That emphasis reflects a stark reality: Since the United States’ strike on Iran at the end of February and the subsequent escalation into a broader Middle East conflict, the world has confronted renewed supply chain vulnerabilities that pose a direct threat to global energy security. The current crisis in the Middle East has resurrected the inflationary specter that followed the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, when gas and electricity prices surged dramatically. The episode has made clear that geopolitical shocks of that magnitude can