Fossil fuel exit critical for ‘energy independence’ after Iran war: EU envoy

Published April 28, 2026 Updated April 28, 2026 10:37pm

European Commissioner for Climate Wopke Hoekstra says the energy crisis stemming from the US-Israeli war on Iran underlines an economic and energy security imperative to phase out fossil fuels, Al Jazeera reports.

“We already had a very good reason to move on [from fossil fuels] for climate action … we now also have it for commercial reasons, and reasons of energy independence,” Hoekstra says at the first global talks on exiting fossil fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has taken a huge chunk of oil supplies off the market, sending prices soaring globally, with most EU countries relying on imports.

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