Pew Research: Global Energy Policy Responses to the Iran War

While American families absorb higher gas prices, grocery bills, and skyrocketing utility costs driven by the war in Iran, the rest of the world is refusing to let its people suffer alone.

According to a recent Pew Research Center report, 113 nations and the European Commission have taken concrete, deliberate steps to shield working people from the economic shockwaves of this conflict. The policy response spans the globe: 55 countries cut fuel taxes, 32 expanded fuel subsidies, and others capped energy prices or subsidized public transit to keep people moving. Laos alone enacted nine distinct emergency policies.

The contrast is a stark indictment of priorities. Countries with far fewer resources than the United States looked at rising energy costs and acted.

Here at home, the nationwide response has been complete gridlock. While a handful of states like Georgia and Indiana stepped in with temporary state gas tax relief, federal action never materialized beyond a floated suggestion to suspend the federal gas tax.

The burden of this inaction falls unevenly. Women—particularly women of color, single mothers, and lower-wage workers—spend a disproportionate share of their income on transportation and energy. When the federal government fails to act, they absorb the hit first and hardest.

Leading Ladies Vote believes that the people who do the most to hold this country together deserve a government that holds them up in return. If Washington won’t protect our budgets, we have to change who sits in the seats. That protection starts at the ballot box.

🔗 Read the full Pew Research report here.