The global energy crisis, exacerbated by the recent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has dealt a severe blow to world supply chains. However, there is an unexpected "bright side" to this situation: it has exposed the dangerous dependence of the global economy on fossil fuels with unprecedented clarity and given a powerful impetus to the "green" technologies that environmentalists have been promoting for decades.
As Positive News observer Martin Wright notes, the sun, seaweed, and fertile soil have one important advantage: they do not need to be transported by tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. It is this circumstance that is becoming the very "silver lining" of the economic storm that has affected both fuel prices and food costs due to the global dependence on synthetic fertilizers.
Energy Independence in Action
Countries that invested in renewable energy sources (RES) in advance are now reaping the benefits of real financial savings. Pakistan is a prime example. According to Hugh Knowles, former executive director of Friends of the Earth, the country, historically vulnerable due to its dependence on fossil fuel imports, has made a rapid transition to solar energy.
By the end of 2025, the share of solar energy in Pakistan's electricity production grew from 2.9% in 2020 to 32%. This move has allowed the country to save over $12 billion on fossil fuel imports. In 2026 alone, new capacity is expected to bring Pakistan an additional $6.3 billion in savings.
As author and environmentalist Bill McKibben aptly noted: "It takes sunlight 93 million miles to reach Earth, but not a single one of those miles passes through the Strait of Hormuz."
Decentralization as a Guarantee of Security
Renewable energy offers not only economic but also strategic advantages. Unlike large, centralized power plants, RES facilities are distributed across the territory, making them much less vulnerable to targeted strikes or failures.
Ukraine has learned this lesson well. The country's largest energy company, DTEK, is actively diversifying its generation, moving from coal to solar and wind energy. As company representative Jeff Outem notes, a coal-fired power plant is extremely vulnerable and can be disabled by a single missile. It would take about 40 missiles to inflict comparable damage on a wind farm of similar capacity.
Revolution in Agriculture
The energy crisis has also hit the agricultural sector hard, as a significant portion of the global trade in nitrogen fertilizers and their raw materials also depends on routes through the Middle East. However, farmers practicing regenerative agriculture have faced much less difficulty.
According to a 2025 report, yields on regenerative farms are only 1-2% lower than on traditional farms, while fertilizer costs are reduced by more than 60%.
Unsurprisingly, interest in alternative natural fertilizers such as seaweed is growing. Recent reports from the UK have shown that local farmers are already using drones to spray seaweed extracts on wheat fields. And off the coast of the Netherlands, a new seaweed farm supported by Amazon has recently harvested its first crop grown directly between offshore wind turbines.
The Main Risk is to Return to Complacency
It is said that a good crisis should never be wasted. History has already given us a similar chance: the oil price surge in 1973 triggered a wave of energy efficiency innovations, which subsided as soon as prices fell again.
The real danger of the current crisis is not that we will fail to innovate our way to a greener and safer alternative. The main threat is that once the strait reopens and oil flows as usual, humanity will forget the urgent need for change and sink back into complacency. Until the next crisis.
