Global Sustainability and
Energy Policy
Year 3
2019 – 2020
,4
,TABLE OF CONTENTS
LECTURE 1: THE GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DISCOURSE AND
ENERGY POLICY...........................................................................................6
SEMINAR 1: INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND
ENERGY POLICY...........................................................................................9
LECTURE 2: THE GREEN ECONOMY, ENERGY & THE ECONOMIC CRISIS....15
SEMINAR 2: TOWARDS A GREEN ECONOMY..............................................19
LECTURE 3: GLOBAL ENERGY GOVERNANCE............................................24
SEMINAR 3: ENERGY AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE.....................................27
LECTURE 4: ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY.............................32
SEMINAR 4: ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT.................................................35
LECTURE 5: ENERGY POLICY AND CLIMATE CHANGE................................43
SEMINAR 5: ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE............................................47
ONE PLANET WEEK: ZERO CARBON SPECIAL LECTURE: MAKING CLIMATE
SCIENCE HUMAN.......................................................................................52
LECTURE 6: ENERGY POLICY IN THE UK AND FUTURE PROSPECTS...........53
SEMINAR 6: UK ENERGY NOW AND GOING FORWARD..............................58
LECTURE 7: THE BRICS AND ENERGY POLICY............................................62
SEMINAR 7: ENERGY AND THE BRICS........................................................63
LECTURE 8: TOWARDS AN ENERGY UNION IN THE EU..............................66
SEMINAR 8: EUROPEAN ENERGY UNION....................................................70
5
, 13/01/2020
GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY POLICY
LECTURE 1: THE GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
DISCOURSE AND ENERGY POLICY
Why study Energy Policy?
Current challenges
o peak oil; new huge consumers (India, China); climate change
o what is going to happen when we run out, when production
peaks? Higher and higher prices
o the problem with peak oil in today is that the discussion has
moved on to the new technologies replacing oil and gas
o price versus geology
o rising need, what are the future prices?
o Climate change debate
Fundamental reordering of existing energy systems, neither easy
nor cheap
Why energy?
o fuel of the economy
o fuelling warfare
o strategic foreign policy objective
Peakists are focusing on geological factors, how much we can
extract and from where
Growthists focus on what is going to happen if we keep going like
we do, focusing on economic factors, costs and benefits, how much
we can take away from the Earth
Environmentalists focus on how to deal with climate change, they
focus on all level from local to global, mainly concerned about how
much pollution we can absorb, what are the risks and costs of it
We might need a change, a transition but it is neither easy nor
cheap, the short democratic electoral cycles make is hard to act in
the long-term, yet it is important, for many countries in international
relations energy is a main concern for warfare and foreign affairs
Energy systems
Standard scientific definition of energy has evolved through
observation
Energy policy: linked to sector, type of fuel
o Energy became more and more important and central,
becoming economic and political tool
Energy system: sources, technologies, transmission, distribution,
storage, management system, services
o Boundary
o Environment
Global energy system
o we are heavily reliant on fossil fuels
6
, o growth in primary energy consumption
o rise in world population, rise in world GDP, but this is
unequally distributed around the world
Sustainable energy system
Energy sources that fulfil three requirements (very few of our
current energy sources meet these points)
o Not significantly depleted by continued use
o Do not entail emissions of pollutants or hazards to human or
ecological system on a large scale
o Do not involve the perpetuation of significant social injustices
o In practice, a mix of weak and strong sustainability
Sustainable development
‘… meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their
own needs’ (WCED 1987, p. 8)
The ‘ladder’ of sustainable
development (Baker, 2006)
o pollution control
o weak and strong sustainable
development
o ideal model
o state becomes a key actor,
one cannot do much alone
Even renewable energy sources might not qualify for the criteria of
‘sustainable energy system’
We have huge disparities in terms of where energy sources are
located in the world, it leads to conflict and war
Main features of sustainable development
o Essentially anthropocentric
o … ‘far from requiring the cessation of economic growth’
(WCED 1987, p. 40)
o Cooperative effort necessary
o Implementation deficit
o Technological optimism and solutions
Technological Perspectives on Energy Policy (Kuzemko et al,
2016)
Complex challenges and innovative solutions
Socio-Technical Transitions (sociology and economics) = one
dominant form of energy is replaced by another
interconnections and sunk costs
But… little emphasis on economic and political context, how to
manage costs
o The materiality of the grid (Davidescu et al, 2018)
7
, Large populations and poor states are now against renewable
energies because it harms their economy, it is expensive for them,
etc.
Energy and sustainability challenges around the world
High Consumption Societies (Baker, 2016)
Institutional capacity building
Environmental legislation in line with UNFCCC obligations
Targets set for emissions reductions, energy efficiency, renewable
energy (EU 20-20-20)
o But it does not actually work, investments are left behind
But, the EU acts as a ‘bubble’
o It seems very ambitious, but some go beyond the 20% target,
while others are way below
Transport and housing emissions on the rise
USA, Australia as ‘bad’ examples
o High consumption countries, do not engage with obligations,
going back on their promises
Transition countries in CEE (Baker, 2016)
o They sit uncomfortably between high-consumption countries
and Asia, they have a legacy of socialist industrial system, in
which they have a high energy intensity
o They have outdated technology and poor-quality fuel
o The industrial town complex: a Soviet style of industrialisation,
linking the development of cities around one single industry,
making the city completely independent, but when that
industry collapses, the city goes with it
o Concerns over nuclear safety – some of these technologies are
Russia, there is a list of problematic reactors in Ukraine,
Lithuania, and Hungary’s Paks has recently been added
o Import dependency and the Ukrainian crises
8
Energy Policy
Year 3
2019 – 2020
,4
,TABLE OF CONTENTS
LECTURE 1: THE GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DISCOURSE AND
ENERGY POLICY...........................................................................................6
SEMINAR 1: INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND
ENERGY POLICY...........................................................................................9
LECTURE 2: THE GREEN ECONOMY, ENERGY & THE ECONOMIC CRISIS....15
SEMINAR 2: TOWARDS A GREEN ECONOMY..............................................19
LECTURE 3: GLOBAL ENERGY GOVERNANCE............................................24
SEMINAR 3: ENERGY AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE.....................................27
LECTURE 4: ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY.............................32
SEMINAR 4: ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT.................................................35
LECTURE 5: ENERGY POLICY AND CLIMATE CHANGE................................43
SEMINAR 5: ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE............................................47
ONE PLANET WEEK: ZERO CARBON SPECIAL LECTURE: MAKING CLIMATE
SCIENCE HUMAN.......................................................................................52
LECTURE 6: ENERGY POLICY IN THE UK AND FUTURE PROSPECTS...........53
SEMINAR 6: UK ENERGY NOW AND GOING FORWARD..............................58
LECTURE 7: THE BRICS AND ENERGY POLICY............................................62
SEMINAR 7: ENERGY AND THE BRICS........................................................63
LECTURE 8: TOWARDS AN ENERGY UNION IN THE EU..............................66
SEMINAR 8: EUROPEAN ENERGY UNION....................................................70
5
, 13/01/2020
GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY POLICY
LECTURE 1: THE GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
DISCOURSE AND ENERGY POLICY
Why study Energy Policy?
Current challenges
o peak oil; new huge consumers (India, China); climate change
o what is going to happen when we run out, when production
peaks? Higher and higher prices
o the problem with peak oil in today is that the discussion has
moved on to the new technologies replacing oil and gas
o price versus geology
o rising need, what are the future prices?
o Climate change debate
Fundamental reordering of existing energy systems, neither easy
nor cheap
Why energy?
o fuel of the economy
o fuelling warfare
o strategic foreign policy objective
Peakists are focusing on geological factors, how much we can
extract and from where
Growthists focus on what is going to happen if we keep going like
we do, focusing on economic factors, costs and benefits, how much
we can take away from the Earth
Environmentalists focus on how to deal with climate change, they
focus on all level from local to global, mainly concerned about how
much pollution we can absorb, what are the risks and costs of it
We might need a change, a transition but it is neither easy nor
cheap, the short democratic electoral cycles make is hard to act in
the long-term, yet it is important, for many countries in international
relations energy is a main concern for warfare and foreign affairs
Energy systems
Standard scientific definition of energy has evolved through
observation
Energy policy: linked to sector, type of fuel
o Energy became more and more important and central,
becoming economic and political tool
Energy system: sources, technologies, transmission, distribution,
storage, management system, services
o Boundary
o Environment
Global energy system
o we are heavily reliant on fossil fuels
6
, o growth in primary energy consumption
o rise in world population, rise in world GDP, but this is
unequally distributed around the world
Sustainable energy system
Energy sources that fulfil three requirements (very few of our
current energy sources meet these points)
o Not significantly depleted by continued use
o Do not entail emissions of pollutants or hazards to human or
ecological system on a large scale
o Do not involve the perpetuation of significant social injustices
o In practice, a mix of weak and strong sustainability
Sustainable development
‘… meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their
own needs’ (WCED 1987, p. 8)
The ‘ladder’ of sustainable
development (Baker, 2006)
o pollution control
o weak and strong sustainable
development
o ideal model
o state becomes a key actor,
one cannot do much alone
Even renewable energy sources might not qualify for the criteria of
‘sustainable energy system’
We have huge disparities in terms of where energy sources are
located in the world, it leads to conflict and war
Main features of sustainable development
o Essentially anthropocentric
o … ‘far from requiring the cessation of economic growth’
(WCED 1987, p. 40)
o Cooperative effort necessary
o Implementation deficit
o Technological optimism and solutions
Technological Perspectives on Energy Policy (Kuzemko et al,
2016)
Complex challenges and innovative solutions
Socio-Technical Transitions (sociology and economics) = one
dominant form of energy is replaced by another
interconnections and sunk costs
But… little emphasis on economic and political context, how to
manage costs
o The materiality of the grid (Davidescu et al, 2018)
7
, Large populations and poor states are now against renewable
energies because it harms their economy, it is expensive for them,
etc.
Energy and sustainability challenges around the world
High Consumption Societies (Baker, 2016)
Institutional capacity building
Environmental legislation in line with UNFCCC obligations
Targets set for emissions reductions, energy efficiency, renewable
energy (EU 20-20-20)
o But it does not actually work, investments are left behind
But, the EU acts as a ‘bubble’
o It seems very ambitious, but some go beyond the 20% target,
while others are way below
Transport and housing emissions on the rise
USA, Australia as ‘bad’ examples
o High consumption countries, do not engage with obligations,
going back on their promises
Transition countries in CEE (Baker, 2016)
o They sit uncomfortably between high-consumption countries
and Asia, they have a legacy of socialist industrial system, in
which they have a high energy intensity
o They have outdated technology and poor-quality fuel
o The industrial town complex: a Soviet style of industrialisation,
linking the development of cities around one single industry,
making the city completely independent, but when that
industry collapses, the city goes with it
o Concerns over nuclear safety – some of these technologies are
Russia, there is a list of problematic reactors in Ukraine,
Lithuania, and Hungary’s Paks has recently been added
o Import dependency and the Ukrainian crises
8
