As energy crisis grows and Donald Trump insults allies again, we should remember this WW2 slogan
Advice to conserve oil adds to the sense that the energy crisis is about to get worse, but panicking won’t help anyone
With no signs the Iran War is about to reach a satisfactory resolution – the downfall of the brutal regime in Tehran being the best one – the world is facing a growing energy crisis.
Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has sent oil prices well above $100 a barrel despite the emergency release of 400 million barrels from reserves held by member states of the International Energy Agency (IEA) earlier this month.
Adding to the tension, the IEA has warned this is now “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market” and yesterday it issued a ten-point plan to encourage people to use less oil. Among the measures, they suggested people could work from home, drive 6mph slower, car-share, use public transport, and avoid air travel if there’s an alternative.
‘Cowards, and we will remember!’
The sense of troubled times that are about to get worse is not being helped by contradictory statements made by Donald Trump, who has bizarrely claimed the war is both “very complete, pretty much” and just beginning. He has also complained about the lack of help from America’s allies, while insisting it does not need their help.
In a social media post yesterday that will do little to ease the concerns about his commitment to Nato, the US President wrote that “without the USA, Nato is a paper tiger!... Now that fight is militarily won, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz... So easy for them to do, with so little risk. Cowards, and we will remember!"
Trump has insulted the UK and other traditional American allies before and probably will do so again, but a similarly emotional response would not help.
As for the IEA’s advice, it is not currently in place in the UK, with Keir Starmer's spokesman saying: “People in the UK should continue to go about their days in normal fashion."
In other words, “keep calm and carry on”. With Trump in the White House for just under three more years, old-fashioned stoicism must be our watchword.
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