With rising oil prices, if countries decided to curtail their consumption - akin to a directed economy - to reduce purchases to a minimum and even refusing to buy above a certain value, what could that cause?
The first reaction I’d expect would be production cuts to hold the prices but, technically, those are already happening. Demand is just not following.
Riots and economic collapse. Gas gets food to grocery stores, and it gets people to work to be able to afford groceries. If they can’t do that, violence will be imminent. The transition to electric is a generational project.