New Delhi: Asia has seen the sharpest rise in natural gas prices and the highest number of clean energy investments since the beginning of the Iran War, according to a new factsheet by Zero Carbon Analytics. A hundred days after the crisis in West Asia began and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted global energy markets, the factsheet compiled findings from multiple reports analysing the impacts on global oil, food and fertiliser supply chains.
“The war in the Middle East is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,” said the International Energy Agency, quoted in the factsheet.
Natural gas prices in the US have remained more or less stable, but Europe and Asia have seen significant fluctuations since 27 February, when the war began. Asia suffered the largest price shock in the last 100 days, with Northeast Asia LNG prices rising by 108 percent compared with the day before the war started.
Moreover, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicted that GDP growth will slow in many Asian countries due to higher energy costs and supply disruptions, especially in India, Korea and Thailand.
“Asia is the region most vulnerable to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, receiving more than half of LNG and seaborne crude oil exports from the critical shipping point,” said the factsheet.
However, even as the war exposed the critical fossil-fuel dependence of many countries, it also led to another phenomenon: increased investment in clean energy and renewable technologies. Zero Carbon Analytics factsheet showed that over 25 countries, along with the European Union, have enacted measures to boost clean energy since the Iran crisis began.
“Every 1 GW of solar capacity could avoid USD 128 million a year in LNG imports at current prices,” the factsheet said.
From a solar capacity boost in the Philippines to rooftop solar and EVs in Thailand, and renewable-energy power purchase agreements in Egypt, countries across the world have intensified their focus on clean energy in response to the crisis in West Asia.
What are the clean energy measures?
According to the IEA, 56 countries have enacted emergency energy-saving measures, such as encouraging work from home, limiting fuel supplies for private vehicles and reducing government travel, since the Iran crisis began. At the same time, countries have also approved and fast-tracked renewable energy projects, including rooftop solar and offshore wind, to increase the share of clean energy in their power mix.
This impact was most visible in Asia, where at least 15 countries have announced clean-energy measures, including India.
In countries such as Vietnam, the largest conglomerate, VinGroup, decided to change its plans from building an LNG plant to developing a renewable-energy project. Meanwhile, in India, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued a bidding trajectory for renewable-energy procurement of 50 GW per year a few weeks after the crisis began.
Apart from government initiatives, Asia has also seen a rise in investment in renewable energy, including solar and wind, reflected in rising imports of clean technologies. The growth of clean energy as a response to the Iran crisis has also boosted China’s exports. From solar photovoltaic panels to EV batteries, countries across Asia have increasingly turned to China.
In the first quarter of 2026, the Philippines’ imports of solar PVs from China were three times higher than in 2025. Similarly, Japan, Nepal and Bangladesh also saw record-high imports of clean-energy technologies in the first quarter of 2026 compared with previous years.
“China’s exports of EVs into the rest of Asia rose to a new record high of USD 2.2 billion in April amid the surge in fuel prices,” said the factsheet.
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)