How the Iran War Is Inadvertently Boosting Our Energy Transition

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Fuel price shocks stemming from the Iran War and closure of the Strait of Hormuz are pushing consumers around the world toward EVs. 

Far from the actual battlefields of the Middle East, the Iran War carries inadvertent consequences for our sputtering energy transition. In particular, consumers are taking a new look at an option sitting in plain sight in the transportation sector: electric vehicles (EVs). Particularly with gasoline supplies appearing perilously vulnerable, EVs offer a vestige of personal energy independence in an unpredictable, swirling transportation marketplace.

The Unintended Consequences of a War of Choice

Writing in The New York Times, David Wallace-Wells recently marveled that “…so much could be pulled down the drain by a somewhat goal-less war of choice is partly a result of inept or indifferent planning.” And yet, he continues, “this war is also a new kind of conflict, given shape by fossil fuel turmoil and the uncertainty brought about by the energy transition of the last decade.” By his measure, Wells explains that the implications of this conflict clarify that humans began an energy transition from fossil fuels in the 1970s and now exist in the “messy mid-transition” era.

While actors on each side of the conflict carry out the wishes of their leaders, global consumers are given a mid-transition opportunity to react in real time with their own choices. What can we learn from the choices being made?  

Today, renewable........

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