Global economies have already weighed energy options beyond the Middle East, as the war in Iran has put irreversible pressure on the oil industry, according to Karen Young, a researcher at Columbia University.
“I don’t think (advancements in green technology) is going to be reversible,” Young told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.
Young said many countries will look to their own resources for energy and what’s accessible. “It’s about … not being dependent on any one source, certainly for oil, but for any kind of energy fuel.”
While oil prices have dropped and there has been progress in tankers moving in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, Young cautioned that “we should expected a period of volatility and that all depends on the ceasefire in place.”
The initial US-Iran agreement called for the safe passage of commercial vessels through the strait for 60 days with no charge. But Young warned that should Iran revert to tolls for the strait once the memorandum expires, it would send a signal that countries could hold global trade “around the neck” through other chokepoints. Iran previously charged ships about $2 million on average for passage.
Young also noted that Iran’s Gulf neighbors will invest in pipelines to avoid oil flows through the strait, which allowed for the transit of 20 million barrels a day before the war began.
