What the Iran conflict means for Europe’s energy transition

The confrontation between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, which began on Saturday, 28 February [2026], has shaken global energy markets, reminding policymakers and investors alike of how tightly Europe’s economic security is bound to geopolitical events far from its shores. As tensions escalated, oil and gas prices spiked, further exposing the fragility of a system still structurally dependent on imported hydrocarbons. These sudden price spikes are not new, nor are the vulnerabilities they expose. The arguments for accelerating renewable energy deployment are no longer confined to climate policy, but they are increasingly central to the continent’s energy security...