#emergency-oil-reserves

#emergency-oil-reserves

Governments in the Global South are among the least prepared to respond to the oil shock caused by the Iran war. As the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz drives the worst energy crunch in modern history, leading governments to scramble to unload their emergency oil stockpiles, developing countries are among the least prepared to mitigate the shock. Although surging fuel prices due to the fallout of the US-Israel war on Iran have impacted most of the world, import-reliant poorer countries are among the worst affected and the most lacking in energy reserves to cushion the blow.

The oil market challenges we are facing are unprecedented in scale. IEA member countries have responded with an emergency collective action of unprecedented size. The decision was unanimous.

Oil markets are global so the response to major disruptions needs to be global, too. Energy security is the founding mandate of the IEA, and I am pleased that IEA members are showing strong solidarity in taking decisive action together.