David Wallace-Wells, in an op-ed in the *New York Times*, suggests that the war in Iran could be a turning point, a recognition that fossil fuels belong in the past and renewables are the future. This conflict, along with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, marks the third major energy shock in just a few years. The International Energy Agency has called the situation in Iran the greatest threat to global energy security in history.

One-fifth of the world's liquefied natural gas flow and a similar proportion of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz, exacerbating the situation. The resulting price spikes and fuel shortages in Asia and Africa could trigger a global recession, even if the conflict subsides soon.

Wallace-Wells describes the current situation as a 'mid-transition war', spanning the old paradigm of fossil energy and the new one of renewable energy. It is highlighted that the world has become complacent about the availability of oil and gas, with relative price stability in recent decades. However, the current situation, including the 'kidnapping' of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and attempts to 'bomb' a petrostate, have triggered a global energy crisis. In contrast, no wars have been started over solar panels, wind turbines, or electric motors. The key rhetorical question is: why continue to rely heavily on imports from authoritarian regimes when you can harness the sun, wind, hydropower, and geothermal energy available almost everywhere on earth?

The transition to a renewable economy may not be peaceful, as other resources could provoke military responses. Tehran, for example, faces a water shortage so severe that it considered moving the capital to the southern coast of Iran, where desalination plants would provide fresh water. Desalination plants have already been targeted in the current conflict, and in some places, 90% of fresh water comes from these facilities. In the future, access to fresh water could become more important than access to oil and methane.

Wallace-Wells warns that the transition to renewable energy will not be rapid, despite the evidence that reliance on fossil fuels is a death sentence for the Earth and its inhabitants. Governments around the developing world depend on tax revenue from energy companies or direct funding from state-owned fossil fuel enterprises. This funding will dry up more quickly the faster the transition goes, leaving those states precarious and vulnerable. The message is clear: the transition from fossil fuels will be long and tumultuous, but its outline is beginning to emerge as the world recoils from the current conflict.

The transition to renewable energy is key to shifting the conversation from global warming to curbing global conflicts. The constant repetition of the same arguments about fossil fuels leads to predictable outcomes. It is time to stop the madness and get down to the business of building sustainable societies where everyone has access to the electrical energy they need to live a full and abundant life. We must stop destroying the planet and use the free energy we have been given to meet our needs, putting an end to wars over oil.