Ant\u00f3nio Guterres decried the restrictions on free passage through the crucial chokepoint which is \u201cimpeding the delivery of oil, gas, fertilizer, and other critical commodities\u201d and \u201cstrangling the global economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Setting out three possible trajectories, he said that even if restrictions on shipping and trade were lifted immediately, \u201csupply chains will take months to recover,\u201d with global growth falling from 3.4 to 3.1 per cent, inflation rising to 4.4 per cent and trade slowing sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd a world still reeling from the shocks of a pandemic and the war in Ukraine will endure further economic distress. This is the best-case scenario,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
UN problem-solving<\/p>\n
Mr. Guterres highlighted diplomatic efforts underway<\/a> by the head of UN Project Services (UNOPS) who is leading the UN Task Force on the strait to provide a possible humanitarian corridor.<\/p>\n The head of the UN maritime organization, IMO, is likewise developing a framework<\/a> to evacuate ships and seafarers if safe passage can be guaranteed.<\/p>\n Devastating consequences<\/p>\n If disruptions arising from Iranian attacks and threats and the US blockade of Iranian ports continue through midyear, the consequences would deepen significantly, Mr. Guterres continued, updating correspondents in New York.<\/p>\n \u201cThirty-two million people pushed into poverty; fertilizers run low and crops yields fall; 45 million more people face extreme hunger; and hard-won development gains reversed overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n In a worst-case scenario, where severe disruptions persist through the end of the year, \u201cwe confront the spectre of a global recession \u2013 with dramatic impacts on people, on the economy, and on political and social stability,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n Open the Strait now<\/p>\n \u201cThese consequences are not cumulative. They are exponential,\u201d Mr. Guterres stressed, cautioning that \u201cthe longer this vital artery is choked, the harder it will be to reverse the damage.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy message to all parties is clear: Navigational rights and freedoms must be restored immediately … Open the Strait. Let all ships pass. Let the global economy breathe again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a9 UNICEF\/Prakash Mathema Economic shocks spreading<\/p>\n Against that backdrop, the economic shock is already being felt across global energy markets.\u00a0<\/p>\n With no end in sight to the shipping stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz and as Brent crude oil prices hovered at around $118 in trading on Thursday, the prospect of running out of fuel, gas and more has focused attention in the world\u2019s capitals on finding solutions, quickly.<\/p>\n \u00a9 UNCTAD Southeast Asia and South Asia were first to be impacted by the most severe energy crisis in a generation, said Dario Liguti from the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), but he warned that \u201cit is an unfolding energy crisis,\u201d with motorists in Europe already bracing themselves every time they fill up the tank.<\/p>\n Given how national economies the world over remain so dependent on fossil fuels and regional or geopolitical shocks, ECE has been bringing countries together<\/a> in Geneva and elsewhere to discuss ways to wean themselves off fossil fuels, or at least use them more wisely.<\/p>\n Stop wasting fuel\u00a0<\/p>\n One wasted resource that could be used far more widely is natural gas \u2013 methane \u2013 which is commonly burned off, or \u201cflared\u201d at oil wells, fossil fuel processing plants or refineries, as a safety measure.<\/p>\n Instead of burning off the gas \u2013 as is often the case at refineries the world over \u2013 it could be stored and used when needed, lowering our dependence on primary sources of energy, UNECE maintains.<\/p>\n
\n People wait in line with empty cooking gas cylinders in Kathmandu, Nepal. (file)<\/p>\n
\n Hormuz Strait closure sends oil and plastics prices soaring.<\/p>\n