The Middle East crisis exposes a global fault line as the UN urges a shift to renewables

Technicians work on a solar panel in Chattisgarh State, India.

The Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies pass, has been largely closed to shipping since the war involving Iran, the United States and Israel, as well as, to a lesser extent, other nations, began last month. The supply disruption has resulted in reduced … Read more

The war in the Middle East made the case for renewal – what happens in each country tells a more complicated story.

A large farm seen from the air, including a group of buildings with solar panels on their roofs.

A world dependent on oil is in crisis. Shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz – through which more than a quarter of the world’s marine oil trade and a fifth of the world’s natural gas flows – has come to a standstill! Oil prices rose, briefly reaching $119 a barrel. The largest release of … Read more