The Strait of Hormuz’s Bitter Lesson for the European Union

The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz reveals a truth that many European policymakers have ignored: Humanity remains structurally dependent on oil.  - Watts Up With That? - Dr. Samuel Furfari

• This reality, first highlighted during the 1973 oil shortage and reinforced by the 1979 version – triggered by Iran – continues to be neglected, even openly dismissed, by certain political elites.

A half century later, energy insecurity persists with undiminished intensity...

• As a former official in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy for 36 years, I have witnessed relentless efforts to promote so-called alternatives to hydrocarbons and their disastrous results. 
• Yet, in the face of the current crisis, the EU refuses to recognize its desperate need for fossil fuels.
• In May 2023, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, declared that the fossil-fuel-based growth model is “simply obsolete.” 

The partial blockade of the Strait of Hormuz starkly exposes the irony of that statement...