RUSI’s Energy Conference Explores Geopolitics of Global Energy Transition
RUSI invited industry and security experts, alongside policymakers, to discuss the imperative of creating efficient and competitive clean energy industries at the Institute’s Clean Energy Industries Conference.
The conference brought together stakeholders from the energy and mining industries, finance, security and risk management, international affairs and government to encourage the sharing of ideas and experiences across sectors. Participants considered the challenges to the global energy transition posed by:
The dependence of these industries on China and mineral resources located in politically turbulent parts of the world raises questions about how best to ensure supply chains are robust and not open to manipulation.
Environmentally and socially destructive production processes have left policymakers asking which standards should be applied and how to enforce them around the world.
The centrality of connectivity and interfacing between technologies has resulted in concern about vulnerability to cyber threats from both states and criminals.
Expectations that clean energy industries will revive sluggish global economic prospects have led to questions about how best to be competitive amid the many risks and technological and political uncertainties.
Participants discussed the need for Western countries to offer an alternative to China for upstream investments. They also stressed the importance of more active engagement with emerging industrial economies to promote and enhance global competitiveness. At the same time, participants acknowledged that China will remain both the central risk and a key driver of growth for clean energy industries in the foreseeable future.
Reflecting on the conference, RUSI’s Research Fellow for Energy Security, Dan Marks, said:
As global tensions rise, the vulnerability of transnational energy supply chains to disruption has become clearer. Our conference was a valuable opportunity for stakeholders to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by the imperative of developing efficient, competitive and resilient clean energy industries.
Dan Marks
Research Fellow for Energy Security
About RUSI’s UK National Security and the Net Zero Transition Project
The growth of net zero industries has triggered debates about how to protect supply chains for critical technologies required for decarbonisation. At the same time, the coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have pushed traditional energy security questions to the top of the political agenda.
As the energy transition progresses and the importance of net zero technology grows at the expense of fossil fuels, how will the dynamics of UK national security be affected? This project examines these questions, starting with questions around how net zero technologies are impacting UK reliance on fossil fuels and the implications for geopolitics and domestic energy sector resilience.
You can find out more here.