Short answers, pulled from the story.
An energy transition is a major structural change to energy supply and consumption in an energy system. The current transition is driven by the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which requires net-zero emissions by mid-century, and by the rapidly falling costs of solar and wind power since the late 2010s.
The term energy transition was coined by politicians and media after the 1973 oil crisis. US President Jimmy Carter popularised it in his 1977 Address to the Nation on Energy, and it was globalised after the 1979 second oil shock during the 1981 United Nations Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy.
From 2010 to 2019, solar energy unit costs dropped by 85 percent, wind energy costs fell by 55 percent, and lithium-ion battery costs declined by 85 percent. After 2024, global solar module prices fell a further 35 percent to less than 9 cents per kilowatt-hour.
The Energiewende, meaning "the energy turn," is Germany's national energy transition policy. Its key document was published by the German government in September 2010. Germany's share of renewable electricity rose from around 5 percent in 1999 to 46.2 percent in 2022.
Energy justice is a framework ensuring that the costs and benefits of energy transitions are distributed equitably and that historically marginalised groups are included in decision-making. The IPCC defines a just transition as a set of principles ensuring no people, workers, places, sectors, or regions are left behind in moving from a high-carbon to a low-carbon economy.
Historical data from 1960 to 2014 shows that declining oil prices are associated with higher rates of conflict initiation by oil-producing states. When oil prices rise from low to high levels, the expected number of military disputes between countries drops by about half, suggesting the transition away from fossil fuels could increase the risk of regional conflicts among oil-dependent nations.