A worker fills the tank of a customer's motorbike at a gas station in Peshawar, Pakistan, on June 1. ARSHAD ARBAB/EPA
The development of renewable energy sources will help shield Asian economies from the harsh impact of soaring oil prices, a regional forum heard on Tuesday.
As the conflict in the Middle East entered its 100th day, record-high prices of oil and gas continued to drive up inflation across the Asia-Pacific and exposed the region's dependence on imported fossil fuels.
However, energy industry experts said the Middle East crisis also offers an opportunity for Asian countries to transform their energy systems, harnessing indigenous sources like solar and wind to reduce their dependence on imported oil.
The disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has confirmed what Asian economies long feared — that their energy security hangs on a waterway that they do not control, said Sara Jane Ahmed, finance adviser to The Vulnerable Twenty Group of Finance Ministers, or V20.
