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And with Brent Crude still trading at more than $100 per barrel, many workers and households have reverted to using oil and coal, raising concerns of lasting environmental damage, while numerous countries have already announced fuel rationing and a move to online meetings.<\/p>\n
Just over four weeks since Israeli\u2013US bombing of Iran began, sparking the wider regional conflict, the\u00a0almost immediate disruption to tanker traffic in the vital Persian Gulf waterway cut oil shipments worldwide, followed by natural gas, coal, transport, food and fertilizers.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly a small group of LDCs [Least Developed Countries] are net energy exporters: South Sudan, Angola, Chad, Mozambique, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Yemen<\/strong>,\u201d said UNCTAD\u2019s Junior Davis,\u00a0Head of Policy Analysis and Research Branch Division for Africa, LDCs and Special Programmes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe majority are net importers,\u00a0<\/strong>including Niger, Zambia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Madagascar, Togo, Sudan, Uganda, Nepal, Eritrea, Benin, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Senegal<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Highlighting the case of\u00a0Angola, Mr. Davis noted that the oil-exporting developing countries may only see \u201climited gains\u201d from doing so, \u201cbecause many lack domestic refining capacity and re-import refined petroleum products at higher prices<\/strong>\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n Neighbouring\u00a0Zambia faces even \u201cgreater hardship\u201d because it relies on refined fuel imported from the Middle East (and notably the UAE), just as LDCs remain \u201cheavily dependent\u201d on fertilizer produced abroad<\/strong>, since the manufacturing process relies heavily on natural gas (methane) – the UNCTAD economist explained.<\/p>\n According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 17 of the world\u2019s poorest nations need to import more than 30 per cent of their cereal needs<\/strong>. Even more worrying, the same number of Least Developed Countries spend more than half of what they earn from exports just to buy food.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe implication is that rising energy prices will rapidly transmit into food prices and amplify the risk of hunger for households,\u201d Mr. Davis noted.<\/p>\n Finding quick solutions to the energy crisis will not be easy, given the high level of debt repayments hanging over many of the world\u2019s poorest nations \u2013 an issue that the UN Secretary-General has repeatedly criticized and urged the financial sector to reform, in the interests of fairness, competitiveness and growth.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven how heavily indebted many developing countries are to foreign lenders and the squeeze on public spending they have faced for years, it\u2019s highly likely that households will have to pay more for their energy, food and fertilizers and use less<\/strong>. It\u2019s not going to be pretty.\u201d<\/p>\n Against this worrying backdrop, the UN trade and development agency, UNCTAD, noted that 15 of the world\u2019s Least Developed Countries have yet to recover from the turbulent COVID years, with their economies in worse shape than in 2019.<\/p>\nEven oil exporters face pain<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Limited room to manoeuvre<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Crisis measures<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n