Futures of energy in Eurasia in a global context. 4th Workshop Report (original) (raw)

Europe's Energy Security: Options and Challenges to

2013

Europe as a major energy consumer faces a number of challenges when addressing future energy needs. Among these challenges are rapidly rising global demand and competition for energy resources from emerging economies such as China and India, persistent instability in energy producing regions such as the Middle East, a fragmented internal European energy market, and a growing need to shift fuels in order to address climate change policy. As a result, energy supply security has become a key concern for European nations and the European Union (EU). A key element of the EU's energy supply strategy has been to shift to a greater use of natural gas. Europe as a whole is a major importer of natural gas. Although second to Norway as a supplier to Europe, Russia remains one of Europe's most important natural gas suppliers. Europe's natural gas consumption is projected to grow while its own domestic natural gas production continues to decline. If trends continue as projected, Europe's dependence on Russia as a supplier is likely to grow. And, while it could be in Europe's interest to explore alternative sources for its natural gas needs, it is uncertain whether Europe as a whole can, or is willing to, replace a significant level of imports from Russia. Some European countries that feel vulnerable to potential Russian energy supply manipulation may work harder to achieve diversification than others. Russia has not been idle when it comes to protecting its share of the European natural gas market. Moscow, including the state-controlled company Gazprom, has attempted to stymie Europeanbacked alternatives to pipelines it controls by proposing competing pipeline projects and attempting to co-opt European companies by offering them stakes in those and other projects. It has attempted to dissuade potential suppliers (especially those in Central Asia) from participating in European-supported plans. Moscow has also raised environmental concerns in an apparent effort to hinder other alternatives to its supplies, such as unconventional natural gas. Successive U.S. administrations and Congresses have viewed European energy security as a U.S. national interest. Promoting diversification of Europe's natural gas supplies, especially in recent years through the development of a southern corridor of gas from the Caspian region as an alternative to Russian natural gas, has been a focal point of U.S. energy policy in Europe and Eurasia. The George W. Bush Administration viewed the issue in geopolitical terms and sharply criticized Russia for using energy supplies as a political tool to influence other countries. The Obama Administration has also called for diversification, but has refrained from openly expressing concerns about Russia's regional energy policy, perhaps in order to avoid jeopardizing relations with Moscow. Nevertheless, although supplying natural gas to Europe from the Caspian Region and Central Asia has been a goal of multiple U.S. administrations and the EU, it is far from being achieved in volumes significant to counter Russian exports. This report focuses on potential approaches that Europe might employ to diversify its sources of natural gas supply, Russia's role in Europe's natural gas policies, and key factors that could hinder efforts to develop alternative suppliers of natural gas. The report assesses the potential suppliers of natural gas to Europe and the short-to medium-term hurdles needed to be overcome for those suppliers to be credible, long-term providers of natural gas to Europe. The report looks at North Africa, potentially the most realistic supply alternative in the near term, but notes that the region will have to resolve its current political, economic, and security instability as well as the internal structural changes to the natural gas industry. Central Asia, which may have the greatest amounts of natural gas, would need to construct lengthy pipelines through multiple countries to move its natural gas to Europe.

Beyond the Eu Regulatory State: Energy Security and the Eurasian Gas Market_Excerpt

2019

List of Figures and Tables FIGURES 1.1 Major EU gas suppliers (1995-2015). 1.2 Regulatory vs. Catalytic state: A different emphasis on EU policy instruments. 2.1 Forms of state and energy security: A conceptual framework. 4.1 The main pipeline routes serving the EU market along the North-South, East-West, SouthEast West and South-North corridors. 4.2 LNG importing terminals in the EU member states (existing and planned). 4.3 The new EU governance framework for energy infrastructure development. 5.1 CESEC and SGC Advisory Council overlapping membership. 6.1 Conceptions of power along the soft-hard power spectrum. TABLES 1.1 LNG capacity, imports and utilisation rate in the EU-28 (data for 2016). 1.2 Energy dependence, gas dependence, percentage of gas imported from Russia and market size (EU member states, selected years).

EUROPE’S ENERGY SECURITY CHALLENGES  CURRENT SITUATION AND PROSPECTS UP TO 2020. WHERE DOES THE EU AND UKRAINE AGENDA COME TOGETHER?

A growing number of con icts in the areas of energy supply routes to Europe has brought back concerns over energy security to the political agenda. Declining energy demand due to the increased energy e ciency and the post-industrial trend towards sustainable, environmentally friendly economy cannot eliminate negative impacts of disruption to energy supply pathways.  ese disruptions are more dangerous for Central and Eastern European countries where a single energy supplier still dominates the gas market. Western Europe has more energy suppliers and delivery options and therefore is less interested in changes to energy regulation.

The European Union and its energy security challenges

Journal of World Energy Law and Business, Vol. 8, 2015, Oxford University Press, 2015

Energy security remains a vital issue for the European Union (EU), even more so in the wake of the events that unfolded in early 2014 in Ukraine. The EU´s already fragile position in the international energy arena in terms of supply security appears to be more uncertain than ever after umpteenth fall out with its historic energy supplier, Russia. This situation is untenable and calls for swift and decisive action to adequately tackle the issue once and for all. The chapter looks at the creation of a single EU energy market through integration of energy networks in the EU. The chapter then examines various ways to diversify its energy supply, whether through increasing the import of liquefied natural gas or through its relations with the Eurasian Union. The chapter concludes that from energy transit, to technology transfer, to investment protection, energy and trade present interplays across various fields. Improvements can be made to the EU trading system to ensure greater energy security and more efficient energy markets.

Challenges of European Union’s Energy Policy in the Central Asia and Caspian Region

2012

There is no serious research denying that EU’s energy sector will become increasingly reliant on imports. In particular, Europe’s vulnerability in its dependence on Russian gas and oil is obvious. One of the most important energy security challenges facing the EU over the years to come will be its ability to diversify the sources and modes of transit of its energy imports. The EU could try to use the massive potential of the Central Asia and Caspian Region (CACR) as an energy supplier. However, nearly two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union there are still only a few routes for bringing energy resources from the region to Europe. The Nabucco pipeline is the EU’s flagship project with regard to the CACR, but Russia does its best to derail it. Furthermore, the article outlines some other crucial aspects of the energy policy in and around the CACR as well as the possible impacts of shale gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Energy security of the European Union – opportunities and challenges

Przegląd Europejski 4/2019, 2019

For many years, the future of energy has been one of the most important problems and challenges for both national and global policy making. It is related to the high responsibility of the energy sector for climate change on Earth, but also for caring about ensuring sufficient energy for the future generations. Thus, energy policy is an important pillar of maintaining, broadly understood as internal security of the country. The biggest challenge related to ensuring energy security of the European Union is the diversification of energy sources. Member States are trying to tackle this challenge in two ways. Firstly, through the development of renewable energy, and secondly, looking for new channels for the supply of non-renewable energy. The restructuring of the energy sector, which has taken place in recent years, in accordance with the guidelines of the European Union, aims to intensify the use of environmentally friendly renewable energy sources. Equally important is the construction of the Nord Stream 2 and Turk Steam gas pipelines, which has been ongoing for several years, which raises much controversy in the Member States. The article is an analysis of the opportunities and challenges facing the European Union related to ensuring stable energy supplies to European citizens.

Global Energy in Transition. How the EU Should Navigate New Realities and Risks

DGAP Policy Brief, 2019

Global energy demand is shifting to Southeast Asia. This new trade flow is altering market power because it not only follows natural economic development, but also results from strategic trade and investment policies that promote national interests. In this context, the EU needs to account for the geo-economic side effects of the new European Green Deal.-The shale revolution that has resulted from fracking has unlocked significant reserves in fossil fuel supplies and given the US a foreign "energy edge."-The transition from fossil fuels to low carbon energy sources has created a strategic industry around renewables with both opportunities and risks.-The EU and Germany need to proactively address their diminishing role in oil and gas markets while simultaneously ensuring leadership in the geo-economic battleground of the future: low carbon technology.