Justin Worland

Energy Shocks Are Accelerating Clean Power and Extending Coal Use

Former U.S. energy secretary Ernest Moniz argues that the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have strengthened the strategic case for low-carbon energy while also pushing price-constrained countries from gas to coal. In conversation with TIME’s Justin Worland, he says energy security, affordability and climate policy cannot be separated: electrification and clean power can reduce exposure to imported fuels, but most global energy use still depends on fuels without affordable, scalable low-carbon substitutes. Moniz expects the world to reach a lower-carbon system eventually, but by a slower and more uneven path.