Introduction: Challenges to Energy Security in the Era of Climate Change

Abstract

Coming decades will witness major transformations in global energy systems. Depletion of easily accessible reserves of oil and natural gas, dangerous climatic changes resulting from combustion of fossil fuels and the rise of new energy consumers — notably China and India — will make transformative change inevitable. In the West, discussion of energy security is often dominated by security concerns associated with both dependence on Middle Eastern oil and fears of a zero-sum competitive scramble for energy resources (Goldthau and Witte 2010, pp. 1–3). There is also alarm over the climate impacts of rapid growth in the developing world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, recognition of these serious challenges should not be allowed to obscure the unambiguously positive aspects of changes in energy use. Across many developing countries, increases in energy use and GHG emissions are a consequence of expanding access to economic opportunity and modern energy. Viewed on a global scale, the primary challenge facing energy security policy is the task of managing the energy demands of 6.9 billion people within the context of ecological limits.