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61. Securing alternative gas supplies and addressing critical infrastructure gaps in Europe

Author:
Richard L. Morningstar, András Simonyi, Olga Khakova, and Paddy Ryan
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
The Kremlin’s weaponization of natural gas exports to Europe as winter approaches has shattered any illusions that Russia could be a reliable supplier. Europe urgently needs to import gas from other suppliers to heat its homes and power its industry. In doing so, Europe can build a more secure and sustainable energy system while cutting off funds for Moscow’s war machine. Painfully high energy prices are already having a serious impact on quality of life and economic development in Europe. New natural gas supplies and expanded interconnections to bring them to market will drive down the costs of energy and reduce the likelihood of social unrest over energy poverty. The surest means to end Russia’s energy leverage over Europe include accelerating the green transformation, curtailing gas demand, and boosting energy efficiency. However, the continent cannot implement these changes overnight. Gas remains instrumental in Europe’s transition from dirtier fossil fuels, electrification of power-hungry sectors, and integration of large-scale intermittent renewables. Natural gas will likely remain a critical part of Europe’s power baseload for at least the medium term. Procuring an adequate supply of gas in the short to midterm is not at odds with the energy transition. Europe must cultivate alternative suppliers, build non-Russian-oriented import infrastructure, and accelerate decarbonization in tandem to boost energy security and affordability. Sourcing gas from non-Russian suppliers will sustain longer-term decarbonization efforts and prevent regression back to dirtier fuels amid the energy crunch. To diversify their energy systems, European states must determine how much Russian gas can be replaced and from where, as well as what new infrastructure will be necessary to enable new imports. The European Union (EU) needs to clearly articulate the anticipated natural gas supply gap to identify investment opportunities for the relevant market players. This issue brief examines potential sources of alternative gas supplies, the infrastructure required to bring new supplies to European consumers, and the financial and regulatory mechanisms needed to support diversification efforts. It offers recommendations for measures that European countries decoupling their energy supplies from Russia should take to give themselves the best chances of succeeding.
Topic:
Environment, Markets, Oil, Gas, Energy, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:
Europe

62. Preventing Corruption in Energy Transition Mineral Supply Chains

Author:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:
Experts have issued an urgent call for reforms to tackle the pressing issue of corruption in transition mineral supply chains. Corruption undermines key safeguards that protect local communities and the environment, redirects public money into private hands, and disrupts and delays production just when responsibly produced minerals are urgently needed to meet climate goals. Corruption in mineral supply chains threatens a just energy transition and risks derailing global efforts to fight climate change. The global fight against climate change relies on our ability to scale up low-carbon infrastructure, which requires more minerals than fossil-fuel-based systems.
Topic:
Corruption, Supply Chains, Minerals, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:
Global Focus

63. The Geopolitical Consequences of Oil in Africa: The Case of Nigeria

Author:
Cyril Obi
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Oil endowment has been a significant factor in Africa’s history, politics, and development. The continent was positioned strategically following the global energy transition from coal to crude oil in the latter part of thenineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries, which shaped the history of oil in Africa.1 Today, Africa’s oil reserves serve both as a supply of oil to the global market and as a node for the continued integration of the continent’s petro-economies into a volatile global oil market. However, the fortunes of Africa’s oil-producing states depend on a commodity whose price they do not determine, and they find themselves with limited options to collectively leverage their positions on the global stage. This article explores the geopolitical consequences of the imminent energy transition from oil to non-carbon and renewable sources of energy for Africa’s largest oil producer and exporter: Nigeria. It argues that the growing use of non-carbon and renewable forms of energy will impact African oil producers negatively, particularly in relation to economic growth, national stability, and diminished international influence. The potential impact of a global energy transition for Nigeria is significant for a continent whose oil producers include Algeria, Angola, Chad, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, and South Sudan—particularly when grappling with its emerging implications. This transi- tion assumes greater importance in the face of new oil discoveries in other Afri- can countries such as Ghana, Mauritania, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The new oil discoveries have revived the debate over the implications of the geopolitics of oil in Africa, as well as in an energy-hungry world that is simultaneously caught in a “global energy dilemma.”2
Topic:
Oil, Geopolitics, Energy, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

64. Financial Innovation for Energy Innovation

Author:
Ashby Monk and Soh Young In
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
The move toward a global energy transition is underpinned by the collec- tive need to limit the most severe impacts of climate change as well as to foster more sustainable economic growth. Floating photovoltaic power stations on Chinese lakes, integrated carbon capture technology on large-scale power plants in Canada, and decentralized urban wind turbines on Singaporean rooftops are just a few examples of how radical innovations in clean energy technology are fueling the global energy transition.1 Bringing cutting-edge technology from the lab to the global energy market requires a supportive ecosystem. Innovation must be matched by market readiness to adopt disruptive technologies, local capacities to scale up new energy projects, energy policies with climate objectives, technological development, and sufficient and “aligned” investment capital. This article focuses specifically on the last requirement: the characteristics of investment capital needed to support clean energy innovation. Investors are key players in the future of energy, as they must drive innovation in the financial system to meet the scale of capital needed to transform the energy industry. Both a lack and misalignment of investment capital have hindered important technological leaps in sustainable energy.2 One such example is the severe financing shortage in commercializing novel clean energy technology. The most prominent financing issue associated with commercializing novel clean technology (cleantech) has been termed the “valley of death,” which refers to the pattern in which most early-stage cleantech is severely underfunded, resulting in innovation being abandoned before reaching full-sized deployment. There are many causes of this “valley of death,” but the common threads among them are the sheer number of financial risks in the energy industry and the inability to fully understand and manage these risks within the energy ecosystem.3
Topic:
Finance, Investment, Innovation, Energy, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:
Global Focus

65. Ownership in the Electricity Market: Property, the Firm, and the Climate Crisis

Author:
Gregory Ferguson-Cradler
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Sciences Po Center on Coping with Instability in Market Societies (MaxPo)
Abstract:
Electricity is a key area in climate mitigation. The sector needs to significantly expand while transitioning to renewable production, all in an extremely short timeframe. This paper focuses on ownership and control in the electricity sector in an era of climate change. Borrowing substantially from classical American Institutionalism, heterodox theories and histories of the firm, and legal institutionalism, this paper discusses the historically constituted nature of the categories of property, capital, and the firm and how these literatures provide helpful frameworks for analyzing the recent history and possible futures of electricity sectors. A short discussion of the recent history of the German electricity sector, particularly the large utility RWE, will briefly illustrate the approach. Climate change mitigation will require revised notions of ownership and an updated theory of the firm, property, and corporate governance for the Anthropocene.
Topic:
Climate Change, Electricity, Property, Anthropocene, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:
Europe, Germany, and Global Focus