The Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, considers the current energy crisis linked to the war in the Middle East to be the most serious crisis the world has ever seen, adding, however, that it should accelerate the development of renewable energies, AFP reports.
In an interview published Tuesday in the French newspaper Le Figaro, Fatih Birol considered that „there are also reasons for optimism,” because, in his opinion, „the architecture of the global energy system will change” in the coming years, according to Agerpres.
„”It will take years. It will not be a solution to the current crisis, but the geopolitics of energy will be profoundly transformed,„ said Birol, who believes ”some technologies will progress much faster than others.„ "This is the case for renewable energies, for photovoltaic and wind energy, which are expanding very rapidly. There will be a rapid transition to renewable energies, in a few months."” the head of the IEA estimated.
For this, the current crisis should also „relaunch nuclear energy, including small modular reactors”while countries will be able to rely on additional capacity due to the extension of the lifespan of existing power plants.
However, Fatih Birol declared himself „very pessimistic” and emphasized that „the world has never experienced an energy supply disruption of this magnitude.”The current crisis is more serious than those of 1973, 1979, and 2022 combined.” this war blocks one of the arteries of the global economy. Not just oil and gas, but also fertilizers, petrochemicals, helium, and many other things,„ he said.
The world is about to enter „a black April,” Birol warned. „March was very difficult, but April will be much worse,” the official repeated, reiterating similar remarks from last week. „If the Strait of Hormuz remains closed throughout April, we will lose twice as much crude oil and refined products as in March,” the IEA's chief executive warned.
In reaction to the attacks by Israel and the US, Iran has almost completely blocked traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20% of oil and natural gas normally pass, leading to a sharp increase in energy prices.
The International Energy Agency is the principal energy advisory body of the world's 29 most developed countries. The organization was established in response to the first oil shock of 1973-1974, to coordinate the release of oil from oil stocks.