Okategoriserade Global Energy Dilemmas: Baltic Energy Dilemmas?

This short presentation introduces the concept of the ‘Global Energy Dilemmas’ to examine the interrelationship between energy security, economic globalization and climate change policy.

Published on balticworlds.com on March 12, 2010

This short presentation introduces the concept of the ‘Global Energy Dilemmas’ to examine the interrelationship between energy security, economic globalization and climate change policy.

The dominant assessment of the contemporary energy situation is that the twin drivers of energy security and climate change require a new energy paradigm that seeks to provide secure and affordable energy that is also environmentally benign (that is low carbon). The reality is that energy policy must seek to balance the three ‘E’s, Energy Security, Environmental Sustainability and Economic Growth, particularly in the aftermath of the global economic crisis.  Such concerns are at the centre of the European Union’s energy strategy. The notion of ‘Global Energy Dilemmas’ highlights the fact that the balance between the three ‘E’s is very different in different parts of the world. In fact the framing of the problem as presented above is the view from the industrially developed world of the ‘global north.’ For example, there are still 1.4 billion people on the planet without access to electricity, for them the energy dilemma is quite different. Equally, in the emerging economies of China and India the priority is securing sufficient energy to continue to fuel economic growth. A simply typology is introduced that divides the world on the basis of the types of energy dilemma that they face and whether or not they are energy exporting or energy importing states. Having introduced the basic conceptual framework, it is then applied to the countries of the Baltic Sea Region to see if it can shed light on the energy challenges that face the region. The framework highlights the differences between the countries in the region and suggests that cooperation on energy issues must first accept the heterogeneous nature of the regions energy dilemmas.

In sum, the diversity of energy dilemmas faced by the individual states makes it necessary to identify priority areas where multilateral action at the Baltic Sea level and the EU level can contribute to balancing the need for energy security, environmental sustainability and economic growth.

Michael Bradshaw