Iran war an 'abject lesson' on fossil fuel dependence, UN climate chief says

The disruption to energy markets caused by the Iran war is an "abject lesson" in the risks of relying on fossil fuels, and underscores the case for governments to wean their economies off oil and gas, the UN climate secretary will tell EU policymakers on Monday.

While geographically far from the crisis in the Middle East, the European Union has felt its disruption through surging global energy prices. European gas prices have jumped by 50 percent during the two-week war.

"Fossil fuel dependency is ripping away national security and sovereignty, and replacing it with subservience and rising costs," Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN climate change arm, will tell EU officials and government ministers at an event in Brussels.

"Europe is more reliant on fossil fuel imports than almost any other major economy," Stiell will say, in prepared remarks that warned reliance on fossil fuels was leaving consumers "at the mercy of geopolitical shocks and price volatility".

The EU imports more than 90% of its oil and 80% of its gas.