World's Energy Safety Net Is Gone, Global Leaders Warn at UN Forum

Foreign Policy's Energy Forum convened government ministers, energy executives, and analysts during UN General Assembly week against a backdrop of cascading crises: the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted, Russia-Europe pipelines are paralyzed, and US strategic petroleum reserves sit at historic lows. The through-line from eight consecutive panels was blunt — the global energy system absorbed the Hormuz shock, but it cannot absorb another one.

• IEA director declares trust the scarcest commodity in energy, says Hormuz confidence is "permanently broken"

• McKinsey finds all global energy shock absorbers — reserves, demand destruction, spare pipeline capacity — are depleted

• EU commissioner says Europe paid $100 billion extra for the same gas molecules in nine months of the Iran conflict

• US Department of Energy announces $1 billion+ in critical minerals investments, funds first new aluminum smelter in 45 years

• EQT executive warns blocked US pipelines caused $165 gas spikes while the country sits on the world's cheapest gas

• EDF quantifies 200 billion cubic meters of gas lost annually to methane leaks — 60% of Europe's demand

• UK reports 50% emissions cuts since 1990 while growing GDP 85%, unlocks £100 billion in clean energy investment

Why it matters: The head of the world's energy watchdog told the forum that the two main arteries of global energy trade — Western Siberia pipelines to Europe and the Strait of Hormuz to Asia — are both paralyzed simultaneously for the first time in history, and that countries will now pay a permanent premium to buy energy from partners they trust.