Dimon said in June he was preparing the bank for an economic “hurricane” caused by the Federal Reserve and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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A key lesson from the past year is that the world is not ready to move away from oil and gas as the dominant fuel source, they say JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
The bank chief said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday that the ongoing war in Europe has made it clear that fossil fuels are still a key component of the world economy and will remain so for the foreseeable future.
“If we learned the lesson from Ukraine, we need cheap, reliable, secure energy, 80% of which comes from oil and gas. And that number is going to be very high for 10 or 20 years,” Dimon said.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine earlier this year sent commodity prices skyrocketing, including oil and natural gas. US Oil Benchmark West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil traded above $100 a barrel for much of the spring and summer, although it has since returned to pre-war levels.
Soaring natural gas prices have been a particular pain point in Europe, which previously relied heavily on Russian gas to heat homes.
Dimon said that as world leaders seek renewable alternatives, they need to focus on an energy strategy “all of the above” to keep economies fueled and reduce carbon emissions without ending oil and gas production neglecting the future.
“Higher oil and gas prices lead to more CO2. Having it cheaper has the benefit of reducing CO2, because all that’s happening around the world is poorer and richer nations turning back their coal plants,” Dimon said.
The JPMorgan leader previously turned down a pledge to exit the fossil fuel business, saying in a congressional hearing that the move would be a “road to hell for America.”