How the chaos in Iran may give renewable energy a bump.Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to get The Daily Prospect Monday through Friday. [link removed]

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**APRIL 15, 2026**

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During the 2024 campaign, Donald Trump claimed repeatedly that renewable energy is a “scam,” and as president he repealed Joe Biden’s climate program. But with his war on Iran, Trump has created possibly the worst fossil fuel energy shock in history, and hence stoked a global stampede [link removed] toward renewable energy and electric vehicles. It will be horribly painful in the short term, but on net Trump will have greatly accelerated the energy transition.

**–Ryan Cooper, senior editor**

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Davide Bonaldo/Sipa USA via AP Images

The Green New Steal [link removed]

During the 2024 campaign, the core of Donald Trump’s energy platform was an all-out attack on President Biden’s climate policies. After taking office, Trump was as good as his word, signing a repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act and abolishing subsidies for the manufacture and purchase of solar panels, wind turbines, and EVs.

Trump only slowed the march of American renewables, however. The price of solar in 2025 was cheaper than any other form of electricity in most of the world, even without subsidies. And now with his unprovoked war of aggression on Iran, Trump has caused the price of renewables’ competition—fossil fuels—to soar. With the Strait of Hormuz closed for going on seven weeks, the global price of oil is **over $100** [link removed] in much of the world, while liquefied natural gas prices in Asia have **roughly doubled** [link removed].

The price crunch is already so bad that poorer nations in Asia that are heavily dependent on Gulf energy supplies are being **forced to ration energy** [link removed]. The Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan have moved to four-day workweeks to cut commuting, while Myanmar has restricted private driving to alternate days based on license plate numbers. And with no end to the conflict in sight, prices are likely to go much higher, and soon.

All this is **sparking a stampede** [link removed] toward renewable energy and EVs around the world. In Britain, solar panel sales were up **78 percent** [link removed] last month, while heat pump sales were up **51 percent** [link removed]. In Germany, orders for heat pumps **are surging** [link removed]. Chinese exports of EVs **more than doubled** [link removed] last quarter. The French used-car seller Aramisauto **reports** [link removed] its EV sales doubled in a month.

Even in backward, benighted America, market dynamics are turning away from fossil energy. Solar investment has **ticked back up** [link removed], and even five large offshore wind projects got back on track when Interior Secretary Doug Burgum quietly **let a deadline lapse** [link removed] in a legal attempt to stop them. Auto traders report a marked increase in inquiries about buying or leasing an EV, particularly in the used market, where EV sales were **up 12 percent** [link removed] last quarter. That will undoubtedly increase as gas prices cruise past $5 or more.

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