Cutting Russia’s fossil fuel exports: Short-term pain for long-term gain

In response to the invasion of Ukraine, most OECD countries have announced punishing sanctions against Russia. But the sanctions have so far failed to target Russia’s primary source of foreign exchange – exports of fossil fuels. This column argues that while the short-term impact of restricting Russia’s fossil fuel exports on EU households’ real income would be non-trivial, the longer-term cost would be more modest and would be offset by considerable environment co-benefits. Meanwhile, the adverse impacts on the Russian economy would be overwhelming.