As the military intervention in Iran has upended global oil markets, countries that have invested in renewable energy and electric vehicles have found themselves better positioned to weather the disruption, according to NPR.
On the other hand, consumers in countries such as the United States, which has been slower to adopt technologies like wind and solar power, have been heavily impacted by rising oil prices.
Experts said that this disparity has not been a matter of luck but rather of intentional policy decisions.
"That's not a coincidence," said Jan Rosenow, energy and climate professor at Oxford University, per NPR. "It's a deliberate strategy to move away from [imported oil] and electrify."
EV drivers have largely been insulated from rising fuel costs. This has been particularly true in countries such as China, where more than half of all new cars sold are EVs, and Nepal, where that figure is 70%, according to NPR.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., the federal government has rolled back programs aimed at boosting EV sales and expanding renewable energy production. In some instances, wind and solar projects that have spent years in development have been abruptly canceled.
Americans are now paying the price for these policy choices at the gas pump.
In the last month, the average price of regular unleaded gasoline in the U.S. skyrocketed by 74 cents, a 26.9% increase, CNN reported. The figure represented the largest monthly jump in gas prices since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Meanwhile, countries that have invested in renewable energy and EVs have been far less impacted.
"The widespread adoption of solar and batteries kind of serves as a hedge or a protection sort of against these price shocks that the fossil fuel markets are very vulnerable to globally," said Nabiya Imran of Renewables First, a Pakistani think tank, as quoted by NPR.
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