India, April 22 -- A historic oil shock triggered by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz has exposed fossil fuels as costly and unreliable.

It has also accelerated a global pivot to renewables and electric vehicles.

As Asia-Pacific nations scramble to cope with soaring fuel bills, 53 countries will meet in Colombia to design a managed phaseout of coal, oil and gas that protects workers and economies.

United States President Donald Trump is a longtime climate denier and oil industry ally, who sums up his own energy policy as "drill, baby, drill". Yet he is doing more than almost anyone to speed up the global shift from fossil fuels to clean energy and electric vehicles (EV).

After the US and Israel struck Iran in late February, Tehr...