· 72 comments · Save ·
General Mar 26, 2026 at 10:31 PM

Asia braces for worst-case energy scenarios as Iran war drags on

Posted by kiyomoris

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/03/26/asia-pacific/asia-energy-scenarios-iran-war/
🚩 Report this post

72 Comments

Sign in to comment — or just click the box below.
🔒 Your email is never shown publicly.
viola-purple Mar 26, 2026 +292
That's a huge problem.. I've got friends in Laos and Cambodia - 4$ per liter, that's an equivalent of eg 20$ in the US adjusted to income. Thats like what? 50$ per gallon? They have huge queues over there...
292
blacksystembbq Mar 27, 2026 +111
Time to go electric, better sooner than later and this is good incentive
111
viola-purple Mar 27, 2026 +51
Thats why Im glad that the Greens in Germany started, yett unfortunately the right stopped it, yet we are over 60% sustainable energy. Hope the country and the world moves on
51
rshanks Mar 27, 2026 +33
Didn’t they also remove nuclear? Having it wouldn’t help gasoline prices I guess but it makes Germany more dependent on other countries that can supply natural gas.
33
EinBick Mar 27, 2026 +9
They didn't. The previous government signed a law to remove it in 2020 or something and all they did was follow the law. And now the CDU acts like it's the greens fault even though it was them who signed it.
9
Pseudoboss11 Mar 27, 2026 +7
They've also built considerable amounts of solar and wind in that time. In 2024, Germany added 17 GW of solar, the plants that were decommissioned in 2023 were providing 9GW. It'd be nice if Germany did not decommission those plants, once a nuclear plant is built, it delivers power cheaply and reliably. But it's also not nearly as big of a loss as some people make it out to be.
7
rshanks Mar 27, 2026 +8
I’m not an expert on German electricity, but my understanding is by 2023 a lot of the nuclear power had already been decommissioned. So I’m not sure it’s a good reference point. Looking at the graph here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Germany It seems like renewables have taken share from fossil fuels, but a lot of their growth has been offset but reduced nuclear Edit: to put it another way, had Germany maintained its nuclear and still grown renewables at the same rate, it looks like they could have phased out coal instead.
8
viola-purple Mar 27, 2026 +1
But a) these nuclear plants were old and you literally would need billions of investment. And b) what if one gets attacked Besides: Germany also os dependent with uranium
1
qtx Mar 27, 2026 +2
> Didn’t they also remove nuclear? Back in the day there were huge protests against nuclear power so the government did what it was meant to do, listen to the people. That's democracy. Suddenly people acting like that is a bad thing. Don't blame whoever was in charge for following what its populace wanted.
2
viola-purple Mar 27, 2026 -7
Yes, they have... uranium also makes you dependent. And: what if they attack a power plant with Uranium. I hope they understand that now
-7
rshanks Mar 27, 2026 +6
Uranium does not need to be refuelled continuously which seems a significant benefit
6
TheTerribleInvestor Mar 27, 2026 +13
That doesn't quite fix the issue either, a lot of electric generation still comes from oil and gas. Even China who is one of the leaders in the space only has 40% energy coming from renewables.
13
blacksystembbq Mar 27, 2026 +2
40% is better than nothing. Gotta start somewhere
2
TheTerribleInvestor Mar 27, 2026 +2
No its awesome, but my point is even electric isn't insulated from the issue
2
blacksystembbq Mar 27, 2026 -5
And my point is that just bc it’s not 100% doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing
-5
Abject_Breadfruit148 Mar 27, 2026 -57
Time to move sadly. Those nations are about to go broke :/
-57
viola-purple Mar 27, 2026 +8
Don't think, they are used to. Hope the US stops soon.
8
dimizar Mar 27, 2026 +114
I got friends from the Philippines asking for WFH setup because of the fuel prices rising up and their company's solution was to offer their employees a d******* coupon for electric scooters.
114
iamapizza Mar 27, 2026 +90
It fills my heart with joy to know that around the world employers can be just as out of touch with their workers needs. 
90
Teantis Mar 27, 2026 +15
Ya gas more than doubled here. It's unclear if we've got more than 3 weeks of reserves. We're dependent on coal from Indonesia to keep the lights on in the country and I was in a shipping industry meeting yesterday in Manila and it's unclear whether there's going to be sufficient fuel for those ships to bunker by late april apparently. And this is the hottest part of the year. Everyones feeling pretty jittery around here. Edit: also we can't feed ourselves without food imports. We don't produce enough food for domestic consumption
15
refep Mar 27, 2026 +379
Crazy how Americans decided to let the whole world get hijacked by the whims of Donald fcking Trump
379
ray_area Mar 27, 2026 +125
oh we had some help
125
issm Mar 27, 2026 +112
Mostly from your own billionaires, who set up all the conditions for the orangutan regime to happen. And from your citizens, who somehow convinced themselves that greed is good.
112
PeterTheWolf76 Mar 27, 2026 +75
40 something years ago a man said trickle down economics works and they have ran with it ever since.
75
Mtnbkr92 Mar 27, 2026 +57
Hey don’t forget Israel.
57
issm Mar 27, 2026 +21
Guess who built them up to begin with. Ok, you can share blame with the British on that one I guess.
21
Zooasaurus Mar 27, 2026 +5
Don't let the Americans off the hook for this, even when the British went toast they still gleefully sucked Israeli c***.
5
lastgreenleaf Mar 27, 2026 +17
Ayn Rand has been poisoning minds for ages, that crusty woman… 
17
Kxts Mar 27, 2026 +4
You can also thank Putin.
4
felipe_the_dog Mar 27, 2026 +5
It ain't like we can make this kind of mess all by ourselves
5
TyrusX Mar 27, 2026 +6
It is crazy. You barely hear any action by non republicans to stop this governments, they are absolutely negligent and incompetent
6
mihirmusprime Mar 27, 2026 +5
They are though, your media is just obscuring it. I mean taking recent events into account, that's literally why TSA agents aren't getting paid. The administration wants you to think both sides are the same. You know that's definitely not the case. The other side wouldn't have done all the things that this administration is doing, but the administration sure would love you to think that. It's what got them into the office.
5
TyrusX Mar 27, 2026 +1
By your media do you mean France 24? DW News? CBC?
1
mihirmusprime Mar 27, 2026
Wherever you're getting your news from, clearly
0
A_wild_so-and-so Mar 27, 2026 +1
Besides our judiciary regularly blocking Trump's efforts, there's nothing that the legislature can do until the next election. The Republican party has completely sidelined Congress and they have the majority.
1
TyrusX Mar 27, 2026 +1
at min they can start to organize so that they win the next election.
1
NiceShotMan Mar 27, 2026 -24
The fact that countries the size of the US (or India, or China) even exist is a huge problem for world stability.
-24
Vegetable_Good6866 Mar 27, 2026 +8
I don't care if the US gets broken up even as an American, but China is just doing what China has always done. Its always had a huge population and large territory going way back into antiquity.
8
SomeBaldDude2013 Mar 27, 2026 +97
F*** I feel so bad for so many people around the world right now. 
97
whatproblems Mar 27, 2026 +29
seems like iran could get a win letting more third party ships get through
29
Sans-valeur Mar 27, 2026 +61
All this because rich people who have enough money to do whatever the f*** they want don’t want to pay taxes.
61
Rodgermellie1 Mar 27, 2026 +128
I see a parallel with COVID. At first, it gets downplayed as it's just an "Asian problem," but it quickly becomes global because an awful lot of things that everyone needs are made in Asia.
128
viola-purple Mar 27, 2026 +38
Its already a problem for the whole world, yet the poorer countries suffer way more
38
gordonpamsey Mar 27, 2026 +48
Asian? Its also a problem across South America, The Caribbean, and Africa. A lot of places are dependent on the c**** petrol.
48
More-Jellyfish-60 Mar 27, 2026 +9
Yea they tell us it’s only for few weeks ( Trump said two weeks almost a month ago lol) then it turned into a couple years. This war will cause issues for a while. And I’m sure they won’t be in any rush to get back to pre war times. Oil that does make it to market it is selling for a huge profit. Other non gulf states like Russia and US are making more money selling high demand oil right now.
9
paxilsavedme Mar 27, 2026 +29
Poor f****** people in the third world, their lives are going to get so much worse if this goes on. FTW.
29
endofworldandnobeer Mar 27, 2026 +29
This pisses me off. Pay is the same, but cost of living went up more than 25% compared to two years ago. I did the math, excluded mortgage. Utility, food, gas, etc., went up do much. Coffee went up from $11.99 for 3lbs to $19.99, gas from 3.39/g to 5.29/g... on top of all that packaging shrank with small amount of food inside. Summer is going to be crazy hot and utility will... forget about it.
29
zmoit Mar 27, 2026 +22
I have a friend in Bangalore, India, he’s been told to stay home. Covid era restrictions.
22
tejaj99 Mar 27, 2026 +12
Really? Lord, we are asked to come to office all 5 days starting April. Looks like it'll stay that way. Atleast I will get exercise walking to office everyday
12
ChelshireGoose Mar 27, 2026 +1
No such restrictions in Bangalore. Fuel prices have not risen appreciably due to the conflict (mostly because they were high to begin with due to our high rates of duty). The bigger problem is cooking gas which is seeing a shortage, especially for commercial supply. As a result, eating establishments, hostels, office canteens etc have reduced their lunch menus which is greatly affecting people living away from home. This has led to employees' demand for WFH but almost no companies have given in. Your friend's employer is probably one of the rare ones that did.
1
DirtyD74 Mar 26, 2026 +21
Is this one of Trumps 3D chess moves. Where we attack Iran to screw over Asian countries?
21
Buujoom Mar 27, 2026 +26
This is a 4D chess move at this point. Some Asian countries are now slowly leaning toward China, especially given its increasingly robust ecosystem spanning electric vehicles, solar energy, and broader clean-tech infrastructure. As a Filipino, I have friends and families who don't want to buy BYD because of the made in China stigma, but then the war happened and now they've bought BYD PHEVs and EVs due to rising fuel cost. BYD dealerships are always jampacked the past few weeks. Here in my city, there's even 5-7 months waiting time for the BYD Sealion 6 because the demand suddenly spiked. Orange man is doing wonders for China.
26
AngrySasquatch Mar 27, 2026 +5
Also makes me think about how the president was discussing a 'reset' of relations with China over this. And we also accepted Russian oil. Shit is crazy... we have to survive, keep the lights on and all that. Goddamn, man
5
OneTravellingMcDs Mar 27, 2026 -4
You have multiple friends and family who all bought EVs in the last couple of weeks?
-4
Buujoom Mar 27, 2026 +6
Yes, I do. In Philippines, when we say family, it pertains to extended ones, from aunts to uncs and cousins, near or far from us. One from my father's side, and 2 from mother's side. As for friends(3 of them), they are work colleagues who are availing our company's car plan program. They were supposed to get Toyota Raize/Avanza or Mitsu Xpander, but decided to go for BYD(seagull and SL5) due to rising fuel cost. We have company gas allowance, but it isn't enough to justify an ICE vehicle purchase given the current fuel cost and traffic climate of our city. Just to put things into perspective why the ICE to EV switch is pretty high here in Philippines: * Our fuel is deregulated since the 90s. * We import 99% of our fuel
6
just_another_jabroni Mar 27, 2026
Ridiculous isn't it. I can understand if you're already looking to get a new car or something but if it's still under finance you're still under a money hole lol. That also assume that electricity costs wouldn't go up as well.
0
Alex_Zoid Mar 27, 2026 -6
Wonders for China? Who imports 80% of Iran’s oil? Trump knew that it’d affect China negatively, increasing fuel prices there. Just like how the incursion into Venezuela also had a negative impact as China had loads of investments on oil there. Unlike many South Asia countries China has been building up reserves for years to mitigate this, but that will run out eventually too.
-6
DatNick1988 Mar 27, 2026 +5
I still blame Aileen cannon
5
alexefi Mar 27, 2026 +8
Good thing i visited japan at the beginig of march. I wonder how my boss trip gonna be at the end of april.
8
sooper_dooperest Mar 27, 2026 +8
Probably incredibly chill and more than a little pricier
8
olzzy Mar 27, 2026 +1
Trumps and Israel’s war btw. Yet people are still defending them
1
JIsADev Mar 27, 2026 -6
Hope they can adopt EVs and solar. Relying on a finite resource from overseas is just silly
-6
kolkitten Mar 27, 2026 -28
Maybe asian countries should do something about the direct cause of the war.
-28
Aptosauras Mar 27, 2026 +49
>*asian countries should do something about the direct cause of the war.* Do a daring commando raid on Mar-a-Lago and capture the President?
49
myusernameblabla Mar 27, 2026 +8
Yes please!
8
kolkitten Mar 27, 2026 -18
Well, that's a method of more uncivilized nations.
-18
Martyriot15 Mar 27, 2026 +4
The foremost one being the US.
4
kolkitten Mar 27, 2026 -2
It's hilarious that I have any downvotes at all. Sounds like a lot of people who just want to act like this is just a natural disaster that just happened randomly.
-2
SgtRuy Mar 27, 2026 -29
It's crazy how every country could've braced for oil shortages for decades
-29
MyDearDapple Mar 27, 2026 -35
It's the ultimate beggar-thy-neighbour strategy.
-35
Alternative-Rub4464 Mar 27, 2026 -53
What? Oil from America not good enough for them.
-53
viola-purple Mar 27, 2026 +32
You don't even have enough for your own people. Wtf?
32
← Back to Board