“Reducing coal consumption is an incremental process.” That’s how China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman put it, explaining the change in the COP26 Climate Summit’s language for coal from “phase out” to “phase down.”

Without a doubt, support for de-carbonizing energy has never been greater on the part of governments, investors and industry. But oil, natural gas and coal also currently provide more than 80 percent of the world’s still-rising energy needs.

Even “phasing down” is going to take decades, trillions of dollars of investment and some major technological advances. And so long as the world relies on fossil fuels—as it almost certainly will for decades—whatever discourages investment in them will drive up prices.

Last week, North American benchmark crude oil prices hit their highest level since October 2014. And while natural gas has backed off from this month’s peak, the fuel continues to trade a stone’s throw away from its highest price since mid-2008.

These higher commodity prices are the inevitable consequence of years of underinvestment in oil and gas production and infrastructure, which in hindsight really stretch back to when oil traded comfortably over $100 a barrel in mid-2014. Nonetheless, we still expect energy companies to hold the line on spending when they update their guidance over the next few weeks.