Research project
Renewable Energy and Geopolitics
In this project NUPI will carry out analysis of the geopolitical, security and development policy effects of a successful transition to renewable energy.
NUPI will do so by producing a paper, organizing a workshop and providing input to a work plan for further analytical work. This will happen in cooperation with the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, the Belfer Center at the Kennedy School at Harvard University and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Project Manager
Participants
Articles
Green future – risks and opportunities
NUPI has partnered with Columbia University and Harvard University.
New publications
The Geopolitics of Renewable Energy
For a century, the geopolitics of energy has been synonymous with the geopolitics of oil and gas. However, geopolitics and the global energy economy are both changing. The international order predominant since the end of World War II faces mounting challenges. At the same time, renewable energy is growing rapidly. Nevertheless, the geopolitics of renewable energy has received relatively little attention, especially when considering the far-reaching consequences of a global shift to renewable energy. The paper starts with a discussion of seven renewable energy scenarios for the coming decades: the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2016, the EIA’s International Energy Outlook 2016, IRENA’s REmap 2016, Bloomberg’s New Energy Outlook 2016, BP’s Energy Outlook 2016, Exxon-Mobil’s Outlook for Energy 2016 and the joint IEA and IRENA G20 de-carbonization scenario. The paper then discusses seven mechanisms through which renewables could shape geopolitics: Critical materials supply chains, technology and finance, new resource curse, electric grids, reduced oil and gas demand, avoided climate change, and sustainable energy access.