A view of the turbines at Orsted’s offshore wind farm near Nysted, Denmark, September 4, 2023. REUTERS\/Tom Little<\/p>\n
Iran War Is \u2018Supercharging\u2019 the Energy Transition, UNFCCC Says<\/p>\n
By\u00a0David Stringer (Bloomberg) \u2014 The<\/p>\n
is accelerating a shift toward renewable energy as governments race to reduce supply-chain vulnerabilities, according to UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose who\u2019ve fought to keep the world hooked on fossil fuels are inadvertently supercharging the global renewables boom,\u201d Stiell said in Paris at a high-level meeting between United Nations climate officials and the International Energy Agency to help prepare for the COP31 summit later this year.<\/p>\n
Since the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, the soaring price of oil and gas has forced governments across the globe to rethink their energy security policies. Earlier this month, the IEA said the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has already \u201cthoroughly upended\u201d the global outlook for oil consumption, as demand shows signs of permanently shifting to other sources of energy.<\/p>\n
The shock delivered by the Iran war is accelerating a trend that was already underway, Stiell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, clean energy investment was set to be double that of fossil fuels,\u201d he said. \u201cRenewables offer safer, cheaper, cleaner energy that can\u2019t be held captive by narrow shipping straits, or global conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are now \u201cso many governments [that] are pushing renewables plans into overdrive: to restore national security, economic stability, competitiveness, policy autonomy and basic sovereignty,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Others have made similar observations. Pressure on consumers from higher fuel and electricity prices could help drive the shift over to cleaner energy, according to Australia\u2019s former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet us seize the opportunity presented by what is now unfolding in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz and \u2014 frankly \u2014 the shock which working people across the world are now experiencing in terms of continued hydrocarbon dependency,\u201d Rudd said on Monday in Melbourne, speaking via video link from Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are experiencing the physical terror of becoming insecure in their supply of what they need to drive to work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u00a9\u00a02026\u00a0Bloomberg L.P.<\/p>\n