Ali Rabiei, presidential aide for social affairs,
told the closing ceremony of the “10% Energy Consumption Reduction” campaign
that public involvement had been key to the initiative’s success and must
remain central to tackling long-term supply challenges.
“When people get involved, the results are
striking. Energy imbalance is one of the country’s main challenges, and the
real solution lies in changing consumption behaviour and optimising use in
every dimension,” he said.
Rabiei argued that energy shortages were the
product of decades of missteps, from land reforms in the 1960s to populist
policies and misguided industrial strategies. He said short-term thinking, lack
of discipline, and consumerism, combined with underinvestment, had left the country
facing critical deficits.
Iran is already grappling with daily gasoline
shortages of up to 35 million litres at peak demand and could face a 512 mcm
shortfall in natural gas by 2041, Rabiei warned. He also cited a decline of
140–160 billion cubic metres in underground water reserves as another indicator
of the country’s structural resource crisis.
“Energy imbalance is not only a technical or
political issue – it is a social issue, and its solution must also be social,”
he said, stressing the role of civic groups, the Red Crescent and charities in
recent conservation drives.