On Tuesday, President Biden announced a new ban on Russian energy imports, attempting to put more pressure on Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine. Though the US only imports about 8% of its energy from Russia, the aftermath of the ban is being felt already by consumers. Gasoline prices hit an all time high, reaching an average of $4.173 for a single gallon Tuesday. Prices continue to climb to new heights, reaching $4.252 today. Diesel followed suit with a record-breaking $4.883 per gallon. While the price rise of fossil fuels was already happening prior to the invasion of Ukraine — a result of long-simmering supply chain issues stemming from the pandemic — geopolitical tensions and Biden's ban seem to have accelerated the trend.
Curiously, the spike in energy prices might briefly reduce carbon emissions in the United States. Indeed, analysts agree that a market-based solution to climate change, such as carbon taxes, would not look all that different than the current situation with energy prices. Such a strategy would artificially increase prices of fossil fuels to encourage the use of high-efficiency and electric vehicles. In other words, the current energy price spike mirrors a policy scenario that may come to pass regardless as one of the necessities of stopping climate change. Despite the current furor over gasoline prices, the Pew Research Center previously found that more than two-thirds of Americans support a carbon tax, although on corporations rather than consumers.
