Clean energy is a matter of security, stability and sovereignty
The Iran conflict sent oil surging and Greek petrol and wholesale power prices jumping within days. Clean energy is not just a climate goal: it is how Greece insulates itself from geopolitical shocks.
Clean energy is not just a climate goal. It is a matter of security, stability, and sovereignty.
Countries that generate their own power from renewable sources are insulated from the shocks that fossil fuel dependence keeps delivering. For Greece, with its extraordinary solar and wind potential, the opportunity to build that resilience is right here. Instead, we remain exposed.
This week's events are a case in point. The escalating conflict in Iran sent Brent crude surging after strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, a passage carrying one-fifth of the world's oil. In Greece, the effects are already hitting households. Unleaded petrol has risen 13% since the conflict began, with prices approaching €1.80/litre and expected to climb further. Filling a standard tank now costs around €105. If oil reaches $100/barrel, analysts warn petrol could hit €2.10–€2.20/litre. Diesel, heating oil, electricity, food transport costs: it all follows. Greece's wholesale electricity price jumped over 60% in just a few days. With natural gas covering nearly 40% of our electricity mix, the ripple effects run deep.
We saw similar dynamics during the Ukraine energy crisis. The trigger changes, but the underlying vulnerability stays the same.
As Greenpeace International's Mads Christensen put it: as long as our world runs on oil and gas, our peace, security and our pockets will always be at the mercy of geopolitics.
The answer is not more oil. It is less dependence on it.