The economic shocks from the Iran war will accelerate a European transition to clean energy that was already underway, European Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera said Thursday.
Ribera said soaring oil and gas prices stemming from the widening Middle East conflict held parallels with Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The European Union responded then by cutting off Russian gas, which sent prices skyward. But the bloc also invested more in clean energy and energy efficiency, and worked to diversify its gas suppliers — including through massive new deals with U.S. companies.
Now a new crisis has roiled global markets. And again diversification will be key, she said.
“The very economic and security rationale behind the decarbonization of the economy is even more obvious after this great crisis,” Ribera told reporters at Bloomberg News offices in Washington. “People have in mind the memories of four years ago with the invasion of Ukraine.”
