The disruption to global energy markets sparked by the war in Iran should serve as a wake-up call for nations whose economies continue to depend on fossil fuels, the United Nations’ top climate official has warned, urging leaders to accelerate the transition to renewable energy as a matter of security and economic survival.
Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), told the Green Growth Summit in Brussels that the conflict is “an abject lesson” in the perils of fossil fuel dependency.
“Fossil fuel dependency is ripping away national security and sovereignty, and replacing it with subservience and rising costs,” Stiell said.
Since the outbreak of hostilities on February 28, attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz have choked supply chains and sent energy prices spiraling. European gas prices have jumped 50 percent, reviving memories of the 2022 energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The ripple effects are being felt far beyond Europe, with universities in Bangladesh closing early, the Philippines considering reduced public working hours, and gasoline stations in Vietnam posting “sold out” signs.
Kenya and other African countries are also directly exposed to global price swings caused by the war, and this could soon translate into higher fuel costs, increased transport fares, and rising food prices.
“Fossil fuel dependency means economies, household budgets, and business bottom lines are at the mercy of geopolitical shocks and price volatility in a chaotic world,” Stiell said.
In contrast to the volatility of oil and gas markets, he argued, renewable energy offers a path to insulation from global turmoil. “Renewables turn the tables,” Stiell told the gathering. “Sunlight doesn’t depend on narrow and vulnerable shipping straits. Wind blows without massive taxpayer-funded naval escorts. Renewable energy allows countries to insulate themselves from global turmoil, and to side-step might-is-right politics”.
His remarks come at a moment of inflection for global energy markets. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), investment in clean energy exceeded $2 trillion last year, double that poured into fossil fuels, and for the first time, renewables overtook coal as the world’s top electricity source.
Yet some governments are responding to the current supply crunch by doubling down on hydrocarbons. The Trump administration has positioned the United States as a stable supplier of oil and gas in a dangerous era. In Europe, nations including Italy and Hungary have urged the EU to weaken climate policies to provide short-term relief for industries hammered by high energy prices.
Stiell dismissed such approaches as “completely delusional,” arguing that slowing the shift to renewables, which he called “cheaper, safer, and faster to market,” would only compound the problem. “History tells us this fossil fuel crisis will happen again and again,” he said.
The address landed at a moment of anxiety in European capitals, with EU leaders hurriedly drafting emergency measures to shield consumers from price spikes, even as they grapple with longer-term questions about the bloc’s energy architecture.
Some nations are faring better than others, for instance, Spain, which has doubled its wind and solar capacity since 2019 and is seeing its electricity prices less influenced by the Iran crisis.
“Dependence on fossil fuel imports will leave Europe forever lurching from crisis to crisis, with households and industries literally paying the price,” Stiell said.
Beyond security and cost, Stiell framed the green transition as an economic imperative. “There’s a lot of commentary about populism at the moment,” Stiell observed. “But the reality is, what most voters are demanding is that climate action delivers at scale, meaning more security, well-paid jobs, better health, and relief from rising living costs”.
