Four key indicators of climate change – greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise, heat and ocean acidification – are setting new records every year. One of the tools for limiting global warming on the planet is the energy transition, that is, the transition from a fossil fuel-based energy structure to one that produces very limited, if not zero carbon emissions. The aim of the article is to examine the concept of energy transition through the prism of historical evolution. Methods: system analysis, comparison, generalization, systematization. Results: the causes and essence of the energy transition phenomenon are considered. Special attention is paid to the causes and trends of the fourth energy transition. The problem of energy transition risks in the modern geopolitical and socio-economic environment is touched upon. Conclusions: from the historical point  of view, energy transitions are not something new. However, today the development of countries on effective scenarios to combat climate change requires efforts both in the field of international cooperation and in the field of achieving domestic political consensus, i.e. the formation of political, public and expert opinion that shares the principles of energy transition.