The current conflict in the Middle East is forcing Asian nations to confront their dangerous reliance on imported energy, much like the invasion of Ukraine did for Europe. According to the authors of the newly released report, the closure of vital trade routes is accelerating a shift toward domestic clean energy technologies that offer a more secure and affordable alternative to volatile fossil fuels.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022 galvanised Europe into action to reduce its dependency on Russian fossil fuels. Four years later, the US-Israel war with Iran will inspire Asia to reduce its dependency on imported oil and gas.”
This means that just as European countries realized they could no longer depend on Russian gas to keep their lights on, Asian countries are now seeing that relying on fuel shipped through risky global waterways is a major threat to their economic stability. However, Asia has an advantage because the technology to replace these fuels, such as solar power and electric vehicles, is now significantly cheaper and more available than it was just a few years ago.
The report “The energy security fall-out: from fossil fuel fragility to electric independence” was published by the energy think tank Ember on March 18, 2026. It was prepared by a team of authors led by Daan Walter, Sam Butler-Sloss, and Dave Jones.
