Current geopolitical events and their impact on oil and fuel prices are, according to economist Noah Smith, an argument for the development of electromobility. At the same time, he thinks that the United States has deviated from this path and considers it a mistake (see yesterday's Weekender). Among other things, because oil and gasoline prices fluctuate much less than electricity prices. «If you drive a gasoline car, you are economically vulnerable to repeated price shocks. If you drive an electric car, you are not. It's very simple reasoning.» Smith points out that oil is traded globally, meaning that «any war anywhere in the world could cause problems and send motor fuel prices skyrocketing around the world. Additionally, Trump's failed efforts in Iran show that American power is no longer a protection against such conflicts. Partly because the US is now more of a force for chaos than order, and partly because of how little ability there is to stop fleets of cheap drones that can threaten global shipping.» In 1991, you could count on the U.S. to use its military might to keep oil prices low. But that's no longer the case, according to the economist. So the Iran war is «a clear demonstration that the energy transition is not a climate issue. It's a national security issue. If there's anything positive about Trump's stupid war, it's accelerating the world's transition to solar power, wind power, and electric cars. they realize how vulnerable their dependence on fossil fuels makes them.” For this, Smith gives examples of measures that some countries had to take. Sri Lanka introduced a week-long public holiday for public officials and schools and reinstated a QR code-based fuel rationing system that limits private cars to 25 liters of petrol per week. Pakistan closed schools for two weeks and cut free fuel rations for government vehicles by 50%. South Korea launched a nationwide energy conservation campaign and released a record 22.46 million barrels of strategic oil reserves. It also temporarily lifted limits on coal burning. Thailand has ordered civil servants to work from home, set air-conditioning in offices to 26-27C and halted oil exports. Japan has announced its biggest-ever release of strategic oil reserves to stabilize the domestic market. Egypt ordered the closure of shopping malls, restaurants and government offices, while also turning off illuminated billboards. Slovenia became the first EU member to introduce a fuel rationing system. Unlike previous crises and market tensions, states have another option, according to Smith, and that is to build more solar and wind power plants. Buying an electric car is then «obviously the most obvious way to switch to electricity.» In Great Britain, for example, the Autotrader website has already seen a surge in demand for electric cars after the first attacks in the Middle East at the end of February. It would not be the first time that the oil shock led to a permanent shift towards vehicles with lower oil consumption. The oil crises of 1973 and 1979 ushered in an era of cheap and fuel-efficient Japanese cars. The economist adds: «This story ended in the late 1990s and into the first decade of the 2000s, when Detroit recovered from the drop in oil prices and switched to profitable, fuel-efficient SUVs. The current episode could eventually end the same way. Once the Iran war ends and oil demand falls due to the global transition to electric cars, oil prices will eventually fall again and Detroit will return to its old strategy.» But Smith thinks that «this time it won't be like the 1990s. The cost of batteries has dropped so much that electric cars are simply better than gasoline cars today. Even if Fortress America uses tariffs and toxic political nonsense to hold on to combustion engines and technology, its automakers will be cut off from global markets. The rest of the world can't afford to keep using outdated technology, and interest in Detroit's gas guzzlers will be very low.»