The West’s 2050 net-zero emission goal did not seem wildly out of reach last summer. Plans were being made everywhere to shut coal burners, ramp up green energy and send fossil-fuel-burning cars to the scrapheap. …Then came the Ukraine war and the decarbonization trend went into reverse. Russian President Vladimir Putin has turned energy into a weapon, gravely wounding the promised renewable-energy revolution that had been the hallmark save-the-planet policy of almost every industrialized country. Normally, high oil and gas prices trigger a rush into low- or zero-carbon alternatives. …Not this time. The net-zero goals now seem like a fantasy. Severe energy shortages are developing as Russia cuts back natural gas deliveries to Europe. …With renewable energy wholly incapable of filling the gap, finding – and burning – more fossil fuels, not less, is the frenzied pursuit even as prices climb. [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription may be required]