“We’re going to end up with a real energy shortage. And when you have a shortage, it’s going to cost more. And it’s probably going to cost a lot more,” private equity billionaire Richard Quest told CNN International. at a conference in Saudi Arabia.
“You’re going to have some very disgruntled people all over the world in emerging markets especially but in the developed world,” Schwarzman told the Future Investment Initiative. “What happens then, Richard, is that you have real trouble. It defies the political system and all of this is totally unnecessary.”
“If you’re trying to fundraise to drill holes, it’s almost impossible to get that money,” Schwarzman said, adding that it happens on a “very large scale”.
Schwarzman called on governments to agree on the rules of the road so that society can make the energy transition a success.
“There is unanimity, something should be done, but how to move from where we are today to a green world is totally undefined,” he said.
“Inflation is definitely more than transitory”
The energy crisis is amplifying inflationary pressures as the global economy recovers from Covid.
“Short-term environment-related policies in terms of restricting the supply of hydrocarbons have created energy inflation, and we will live with that for a while,” Fink said at the conference.
The energy crisis is one of the reasons the BlackRock boss doesn’t think inflation is just a short-term problem, as the Federal Reserve and White House have argued much of this year.
“Inflation is definitely more than transient,” Fink said. “We are in a new regime.”
