U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry announced this week that 25 more countries have pledged to reduce methane emissions 30% by the end of the decade. While this milestone is certainly momentous, it brings the total attendance at the methane slashing party to a measly 34. But more concerning, this progress has a major asterisk. China, India, Russia, and Brazil, the four largest emitters of methane, haven’t signed on.

The year is 2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappears, Scotland votes to remain part of the United Kingdom, and oil prices took a steep dive from the low $100 mark to the $45 range. Come 2021, a lot has changed – the world is currently exiting a global pandemic, global supply chains are crippled, but oil prices are surging. In fact, WTI oil prices hit the $80 mark for the first time since 2014 as demand continues to rapidly outpace global supply.

While the UK obsesses about panic-buying at fuel stations, there are fuel crises going on elsewhere around the world, no more so than in China. At least 20 Chinese provinces and regions making up more than 66% of the country’s gross domestic product have announced some form of power cuts, mostly targeted at heavy industrial users. The reasons are two-fold — record high coal prices are causing power generators to trim output despite soaring demand, while some areas have pro-actively halted electricity flows to meet emissions and energy intensity goals. With supply chains already in disarray, the effects will certainly be felt on a global scale.

Just two days into the fall season and fears of a European gas crisis are palpable. Global gas prices are higher than they have been during any non-winter month since they went crashing down from their peak in June 2008, but European countries have been the hardest hit. Natural gas prices for the EU are up 440% from one year ago. Unfortunately, in a globalized world, energy crunches can hardly remain regionally contained for very long, especially in a context of damaged supply chains and a rush to cut investment in fossil fuels. Do the events unfolding overseas have global implications?