The CLEO Institute’s vision is a safe, abundant, healthy future for all both in the U.S. and around the world. In light of the recent strikes on Iran by the US and Israel and the escalating conflict in the region, we offer the following perspective:

Before discussing the environmental and equity impacts of war, we must first acknowledge the profound human cost. Lives are lost. Homes are reduced to rubble. New generations are shaped by trauma. Every hour this war continues deepens that harm. We cannot support a future built on such suffering.

There are many factors at work now and with the historic number of Middle East conflicts, but this evolving war also highlights the challenges of global reliance on oil.

The CLEO Institute’s CEO Yoca Arditi-Rocha shared, “War extracts a toll on people that lasts long after headlines fade. By continuing the world’s dependence on oil – a polluting fossil fuel – we are creating an escalating global crisis bringing about a host of dangerous impacts that put far too many at risk. We are already seeing climate migration; rising seas encroaching on island nations; dangerous and costly extreme weather events around the world.

This is not only about the world’s reliance on oil, it is about economic resilience. This moment requires the moral clarity to recognize that energy security, economic stability, and action to transition away from harmful and often deadly fuel sources. These are not separate conversations. They are the same conversation.

20% of the world’s oil travels through the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian leaders have already threatened that they would set fire to ships traveling there. This is a never-ending crisis that must be addressed at the root cause.

A transition away from these dirty and dangerous fossil fuels will make the world safer and healthier into the future.”