Iran war prods shared action on energy
The world has learned enough from past energy crises to know that a shortage of a finite resource like oil requires help from a more boundless resource: trust and cooperation. That鈥檚 especially true as the Iran war led to a near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz to the petroleum exports from Gulf countries.
From neighborhoods to the United Nations, the closure triggered shared action worldwide to ensure energy supplies. One big reason: The crisis was the largest-ever disruption in the global oil market, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency, even more serious than the energy crises of 1973, 1979, and 2022 combined.
In March, many countries coordinated to achieve the largest release of emergency oil reserves in history. On April 5, OPEC and its allies agreed to increase production in May. 聽In addition, the IEA joined with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to coordinate assistance to countries in need. And Saudi Arabia was praised for quickly diverting much of its exported oil from the strait to a cross-country pipeline reaching the Red Sea.
The reaction hints of a potential transformation in the geopolitics and architecture of the world energy system. Yet smaller steps in which people simply assist each other 鈥� such as carpooling or consolidating errands 鈥� have also ticked up. In the Philippines, public workers now turn off their computers during lunch breaks. Egypt has sped up its renewable projects for communities. The European Union has asked businesses to promote telecommuting.
Nations that have become more dependent on each other for energy might decide now to seek total self-reliance. Yet what the war has shown is that caring about vital resources requires countries and people to be more cooperative, not less. Voluntary collaboration, much more than markets or top-down government policy, has led humanity to be better stewards and users of natural resources.
With so much distrust now on display during the Iran war, the world can鈥檛 help but reach for a higher level of trust to cooperate on its energy future.
