The Iran War is Forcing Energy-Importing Countries to Turn Inward

The monthslong closure of the Strait of Hormuz is reinforcing an expensive geopolitical lesson about how risky it can be to rely on imported energy.

From South America to Southeast Asia, governments and private companies are being forced to look inward and take steps to harness what they can domestically, even when doing so raises upfront costs. Call it the era of me-first energy.

Guyana, a fast-growing South American oil producer that ran short of fuel this spring, is discussing building its first refinery. Indonesia is accelerating plans to harness more power from the sun. Many other Asian countries have turned to coal in order to plug their energy gaps, at least for now. And in Europe, Belgium is trying to nationalize nuclear energy.

Individuals are also taking matters into their own hands, buying electric vehicles to avoid rising fuel costs or installing rooftop solar panels to lower electricity bills. In the Philippines, which was especially hard hit after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran started, imports of electric cars and solar equipment from China recently hit records, according to Ember, a London research group.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/business/energy-environment/iran-war-energy-oil.html