The ongoing Iran war in the Middle East has exposed the biggest vulnerability of the global energy system. The Climate Chief of the United Nations has clearly said that heavy dependence on fossil fuels i.e. oil and gas is putting both the economic stability and national security of the countries at risk.
Addressing European Union policy-makers in Brussels, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Steele said that the Iran conflict has shown that geo-political tensions have a direct impact on the energy bills of ordinary people. In just two weeks, gas prices in Europe have increased by almost 50%, which has increased the pressure on both households and industry.
According to Steele, when countries become dependent on imports for their energy needs, they become at the “mercy” of global political shocks. The situation in Europe is especially sensitive, because a large part of the oil and gas here comes from outside. This means that the impact of international conflict is directly visible on the local economy.
Work is being done to control energy price spike
European leaders are now working on emergency steps to control the energy price spike, so that a crisis like 2022 does not happen again. At that time, Russia had reduced the gas supply, due to which the prices reached record levels. Now some countries are demanding relaxation in climate policies for short-term relief.
On this, the UN Climate Chief gave a strong reaction and said that weakening the climate goals would be a “completely misguided” step. He says that renewable sources like wind and solar can make energy cheap, stable and secure in the long term. Besides, new jobs will also be created in the clean-tech sector.
Why may the world face energy crisis again and again?
He warned that if dependence on fossil fuel imports continues, Europe and the world will continue to face repeated energy crises. On the contrary, a rapid shift towards renewable energy can free countries from geo-political uncertainty to a great extent, because sunlight and wind do not depend on any political conflict.
This energy shock arising from the Iran War has now taken the global debate to a new turn, where the focus is shifting not only on climate change but also on future economic security and energy independence.
Also read: US-Israel-Iran War Live: 1 dead after missile hits car in Abu Dhabi, Israel attacks densely populated areas
