Three contemporary trends that are very difficult to reconcile

Three current trends are very difficult to reconcile: The huge need for long-term investment for the energy transition; Population ageing, which is attracting households to liquid and low-risk savings; Inflationary pressures, which are driving up interest rates, potentially making it difficult to finance transition investments, many of which have low financial returns and long time horizons. It would be naive to think the solution is massive government support (subsidies to make investments profitable, injection of low-cost public money, risk bearing), because the rise in interest rates will also reduce fiscal space.