Electric cars and renewable energy aren't just solutions to climate change. Around the world, countries are replacing coal, oil and gas to kick their reliance on imports.

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From Pakistan to Nepal, Ethiopia to China, clean technologies are helping to build energy independence and protect citizens from international price shocks like the one being experienced now.

It's a phenomenon highlighted last week by United Nations secretary-general António Guterres.

"The turmoil we are witnessing in the Middle East makes it evident that we are facing a global energy system largely tied to fossil fuels, where supply is concentrated in a few regions, and every conflict risks sending shock waves through the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people," he wrote.

"For decades, dependence on fossil fuels meant dependence on volatility.

It's the second global fuel shock within the past five years, and Australia's cost-of-living pressures have only increased since 2022. Despite being a major gas exporter, the country remains extremely dependent on imported fuel to power cars, trucks and planes.

The continuing conflict in the Middle East is ramming home the message that transitioning away from fossil fuels — beyond the obvious climate benefit — is also a matter of national security.

More than fuel, EVs avoid supply chains

Fuel prices have risen sharply around the world since Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Australia had to tap its reserves.

Having roughly a month's worth of fuel stored away highlights how precarious fossil fuel supply chains can be compared to renewables.

Before you can fill up a petrol car in Australia, it's likely the fuel at the pump has already travelled more than 10,000 kilometres by ship from the Middle East and Asia.

Each of these steps, as part of a global network, is vulnerable to disruption.

Electric cars, on the other hand, once on Australian roads can be charged using locally produced electricity. For millions of Australians, this is produced right on their rooftop at no ongoing cost.

The existing fossil fuel energy system relies on free-flowing international trade to provide a constant supply. With clean technologies, they can run for decades without that dependence.

Australia's modest electric vehicle (EV) fleet is already making a small dent in the current fuel shortage crisis.

According to modelling from consultancy Mandala Partners, Australia's current fleet of EVs has already added 1.2 days of fuel supply to Australia's reserve — currently around 36 days' worth of petrol and 32 days of diesel.

Australia lags behind comparable countries for EV uptake, but that is changing. Battery electric car sales last month were almost double compared to last February. If our rate of penetration matched that of world-leader Norway, where 95 per cent of new car sales are electric, EVs could cover an extra 11 days of supply in Australia.

It might not sound like much, but that amounts to a 30 per cent increase in Australia's fuel reserves.

Electrifying heavy transport and freight is a more complex process and will take longer, but starting with passenger and smaller vehicles would mean that fuel reserves can go towards critical services like farming, logistics and industry.

Admiral Chris Barrie is the former chief of the Defence Force and now an executive member of the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group. He says reducing Australia's dependence on fossil fuels should be a priority.

"You look at the road transport situation in this country, we're totally dependent on the regular supply of fossil fuels, save for those people who are driving EVs. And the uptake of EVs in our country hasn't been that good compared to Europe," Admiral Barrie said.

"We have a military force totally dependent on fossil fuels. We have airlines in Australia almost totally dependent on fossil fuels."

"In every way that we can, we should be reducing our dependence on fossil fuels … whether it's changing the transport system for the delivery of goods, food and services around Australia to electrified railway systems. Or even only reducing our own dependence through the introduction of electric vehicles and so on and so forth."

Fuel security isn't the only advantage of EVs in an energy crisis. They also insulate their owners from price shocks like the one currently being felt around the country.

Renewables create energy independence

It's not just electric cars — wind and solar energy have many of the same benefits. Once the equipment is shipped to Australia and installed, it can last decades without needing a steady stream of fuels burnt to create electricity. You can't choke off wind or block the sun.

It is true that the current market is highly dependent on renewable tech imported from China. Any international disruptions to trade, however, would only affect the uptake of new systems, rather than slowing down existing systems and the economy as a whole.

"The quicker we get renewables delivered in every way that we can to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, the better for our overall security," Admiral Barrie pointed out.

The problem with fossil fuels is that not everyone has them and countries dependent on importing them can be at the mercy of unpredictable global events and leaders.

This goal of energy security is driving many countries to invest in renewables.

According to energy think tank Ember, 80 per cent of the world lives in fossil fuel-importing countries, with over 50 countries importing more than half their primary energy as fossil fuels. The overwhelming majority of these countries have more than enough renewables potential to meet that demand.

"Fossil fuels are burnt every day and have to be bought again the next day, creating system risks for the buyers. In a world of rising tension, that is far too much risk to bear," Ember's report stated.

"The resources of the clean energy era cannot be blockaded or weaponised. There are no price spikes for sunlight and no embargoes on the wind," said UN chief António Guterres.

"The fastest path to energy security, economic security, and national security is clear: speed up a just transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy."

Some countries learnt this lesson the hard way after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, said Josh Runciman, the lead gas analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

"We saw after Russia's invasion of Ukraine that a number of countries across South and South-East Asia either had issues securing LNG [liquefied natural gas], even LNG that they had contracted, or they faced much, much higher prices," said Runciman.

Pakistan is one example. As international gas prices spiked in 2022, the country struggled to buy expensive imported gas for its electricity system, resulting in widespread power outages.

These blackouts are one of the reasons there has been a huge ground-up boom in solar in the country since.

Satellite imagery reveals the staggering rise of solar farms around the world in recent years.

The country's power minister told Reuters that the use of imported gas for electricity had dropped from 35 per cent in 2021 to 10 per cent now.

"Pakistan has been steadily increasing its reliance on indigenous energy resources, and about 74 per cent of our electricity generation now comes from local sources," the minister told Reuters last week. "Pakistan is not expected to invest in any source of power that could put it at risk in terms of energy security."

Runciman believes more emerging markets like Pakistan will be looking at their long-term energy plans in a different light given the current conflict.

"The key takeaway is if you rely on LNG, you're exposed to those energy security risks.

"I suspect that if this current situation is prolonged, and it really has an impact on LNG supply over the longer term, and therefore LNG prices … What we're likely to see is countries across the region potentially scaling back some of their LNG plans in their energy systems.

"What that might do is lower demand growth for LNG into the future."

Much of the conversation around the energy transition fixates on cost. This cost should be weighed against the cost of fossil fuel spikes driven by geopolitical tensions.

These costs flow through to the entire economy through freight, business expenses, inflation, interest rates and food.

The UK's climate commissioner released modelling last week, showing the cost of decarbonising the planet — on economics alone — was lower than fossil fuel energy price shocks.

A new world order?

While a world powered by renewables would be inherently less vulnerable to the supply chain shocks of the fossil fuel system, risks remain in an increasingly disorderly global system.

Beyond its staggering renewables investment, China is seeking to control much of the supply chain, from rare earth mineral processing to wind turbine production, to ensure it can cut the cord of energy dependence. This quest for independence is decades in the making.

Australia, with its vast renewable resources and mineral reserves, is well-positioned to insulate itself. What is less certain is if the nation's decision-makers can think in years and decades, not days and months.

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