Spare a thought for the poor Ecoworriers who are hoping the Straits of
Hormuz will finally be The Springboard to Renewable Heaven. Any day now, they think, the world will wake up to the wonders of low density energy captured in a million square kilometers of industrial glory…

Instead, just like the Ukraine War, the middle east crisis reminds everyone of the importance of fossil fuels.

After thirty years of international pogrom against coal — it only takes a few weeks of an energy crisis to explode propaganda that was six feet deep.

Japan, Korea, India, Europe, The Phillipines, (and that's just in the last few days) have all announced they will be using more coal to make up for shortages in gas from the Middle East.

And even if the oil crisis ended tomorrow, things are not going back they way they were. The shock of discovering how vulnerable your nation is will leave a mark. National Energy Security is back on the agenda.

Japan to Allow More Coal-fired Power to Cope With Energy Shock

By Shoko Oda, Bloomberg March 27, 2026

Japan will allow more use of coal-fired power plants in an effort to boost security of supply to cope with the energy shock from the war in the Middle East.

The country will let less-efficient coal facilities take part in capacity market auctions in the fiscal year starting in April…

Japan is joining other nations that have shifted course to use the dirtiest fossil fuel more in the wake of of the war. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the shutdown at the world's largest liquefied natural gas plant in Qatar have left Asian nations that are heavily reliant on Middle Eastern energy vulnerable.

Increasing coal-fired power will also help insulate Japan from uncertainty over oil imports…

Only last November Korea vowed to phase out coal.  This week, the word is that they are going to stop capping coal plants and allow them to operate more freely.

Europe will be burning more coal too…

Europe Boosts Coal-Fired Power as Gas Prices Rally on Iran War

By Eamon Akil Farhat, Bloomberg, March 19, 2026

Europe is burning more coal as the surge in natural gas prices forces utilities to switch to cheaper fuels to keep the lights on.

German coal plants have increased their share of generation by about 2% so far this month compared with February, even as sunnier and windier conditions boost renewables, according to Entso-E data. At the same time, gas-fired power output in Europe's biggest market has dropped by more than a third.

Europe's energy strategy, which relies heavily on gas as a bridge between coal and renewables. It also raises the prospect that governments may prioritize affordability and energy security over emissions cuts.