Could peace be closer than we think?

Payne Institute Fellow Noé van Hulst writes about how fossil fuel revenues fueled warfare in Ukraine and the Middle-East, despite the sanctions on Russia and Iran. Although the EU continues to discuss more stringent sanctions on Russia, there is a more silent, and perhaps more effective, force at work that may well undermine the engine of warfare: the trend of declining prices of oil and natural gas. Let’s dive a bit deeper into this trend. June 9, 2025.