The New York Times, on Climate, 8 November 2026

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Why the Iran War Has Spurred Both Clean Energy and Fossil Fuels

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The war in Iran has been very good for renewable energy. More than 40 countries have started or accelerated projects involving wind, solar, electric and other low carbon technologies. South Korea unveiled a plan to spend about $747 billion to develop at least 100 gigawatts of wind and solar power by 2030. Britain and the Philippines saw a massive surge in rooftop solar installations, Thailand introduced a plan for data centers to source at least 60 percent of electricity from clean energy, and Vietnam accelerated the deployment of battery storage systems.

Across Europe, Australia and India, demand for electric vehicles surged. But the pivot to clean energy is only part of the story. The disruption of a once reliable trade of oil and gas in the Middle East has caused much of the world to double down on fossil fuels in a desperate scramble for secure, and immediate, supplies. Countries are using more coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. Nations with oil and gas in abundance went to extraordinary lengths to export crude to their customers, investing to strengthen infrastructure and build new trade routes to outlast the current crisis.

All along, governments tapped their budgets for billions of dollars used to shield consumers from higher energy costs, money that did nothing to dampen demand. Image An electric scooter factory in Tamil Nadu, India. Demand for electric vehicles has shot up in India, Australia and Europe. Credit... Atul Loke for The New York Times This week, diplomats from nearly 200 countries will gather in Antalya, Turkey, for the 31st annual round of United Nations climate change negotiations.

Many participants will argue strenuously that the moment calls for nations to accelerate an end to the dependence on fossil fuels — the burning of which is the biggest driver of planet-warming greenhouse gases. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

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About this analysis

The New York Times reports that the Iran war has pushed many countries to speed up wind, solar, battery and electric vehicle projects, while also driving a scramble for coal, oil and gas. It ties the story to the coming UN climate talks in Antalya and states in its own voice that burning fossil fuels is the biggest driver of planet-warming gases. Only the opening of the article was retrievable, and nothing in that text misleads.

What it gets right

  • “the burning of which is the biggest driver of planet-warming greenhouse gases”

    The Times states the human cause of warming as plain fact in its own voice, with no hedge.

  • “Countries are using more coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel.”

    The Times does not let the energy scramble read as neutral. It names the shift to coal and says what coal is.

  • “money that did nothing to dampen demand”

    The Times says plainly that subsidies shielding consumers from energy costs did not cut fossil fuel demand, instead of presenting them as pure relief.

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