Europe has “maybe 6 weeks or so (of) jet fuel left,” the head of the International Energy Agency said Thursday in a wide-ranging Associated Press interview, warning of possible flight cancellations “soon” if oil supplies remain blocked by the Iran war.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol painted a sobering picture of the global repercussions of what he called “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced,” stemming from the pinch-off of oil, gas and other vital supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
“In the past there was a group called ‘Dire Straits.’ It’s a dire strait now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world,” he said.
This is a good time for the EU to get its shit together on their train networks. Make one central portal for booking trains Europe wide, remove the no fuel tax subsidies and no VAT for airlines and apply them for trains instead, and invest in a network of night trains.
The European Rail Passengers Union recently started and is looking to advocate for solutions to some of these issues.