International Energy Security

Americans were once appalled to hear and see countries in Africa or Asia or Latin America and elsewhere around the globe descent into political chaos because of the tribal, dysfunctional political system and identity politics. Today the same phenomena that once bewildered them are slowly but steadily itching into the social and cultural fabric that once made America a great nation. Ever since the election of Donald J. Trump in November 2016, the political Left or radical Left to be precise, i.e., the Social Justice Warriors, the Moral Crusaders of Hollywood, the overtly Bias Media Establishment and the Disgruntled Never Trumpers, though on the fences as of late, have unleashed an ideological and cultural war, that if left unchecked, will bring down the American Republic. The Justice Kavanaugh’s hearings have shown that the majority of Democrats and their radical supporters have not come to grips with the loss of the elections in November 2016. The resistance to accept the reality coupled with the personal hatred against President Trump have gone from sheer political disagreements and policy outcomes to pure betrayal of the political principles that have kept America glued by its institutions of law such as the Supreme Court of Justice and the United States Congress. That said, no matter what the political ideologies or inclinations of both parties may be, the personal hatred towards the President and the use of the identity politics as the means to divide and categorize Americans are stoking division and tearing the country apart.

The Venezuelan crisis has come to a peak with the deaths of many anti-government protesters in Caracas, Venezuela, in past week, or so. Whilst, blame may be directly pointed at the Nicolas Madura government,(1) the simmering crisis had long ago germinated from the over reliance upon the one commodity economy of Venezuela which is oil.

Due to insufficient level of domestic natural gas production, the European Union countries are forced to import this key energy resource from the third countries. This involves political and economic as well as physical risks. In order to ensure energy security, it is necessary to mitigate the threats that in the case of natural gas supplies are primarily related to various types of dependencies. The dependency grows in the situation of low diversification of energy sources and resources suppliers. The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of LNG imports on the European Union’s energy security, which would not be possible without showing the structure of the regional natural gas market. Implications of LNG trade will be shown in comparison with pipeline gas supplies, which are dominant on this market.

Wraz z odbudową autorytarnych struktur rosyjskiej państwowości pojawiła się kwestia zwiększania wpływu Federacji Rosyjskiej w stosunkach międzynarodowych. Jego istota zaczęła się wyrażać przejściem od geopolityki do geoekonomiki z uwzględnieniem celów wynikających z tej pierwszej, tj. odzyskania wpływów i znaczenia, którymi cieszył się Związek Radziecki. Celem niniejszego artykułu jest przybliżenie geopolitycznych aspektów polityki energetycznej Federacji Rosyjskiej w odniesieniu do:
- Podstaw rosyjskiej polityki energetycznej konstytuujących realizację jej celów politycznych, gospodarczych i geostrategicznych;
- Uwarunkowań realizacji rosyjskiej polityki energetycznej na obszarach: Azji Środkowej, Bliskiego Wschodu, Afryki i Europa;
W rezultacie, przybliżenie w zarysie tej problematyki.

Geopolitics is the study of the interaction between geography and politics. Geography is defined expansively as the study of spacial relationships, with special emphasis on how special variation in biophysical world affects human societies. Politics is the study of power—how it is attained, maintained, and used. Putting these concepts together we can define geopolitics as the study of how variation in the biophysical world shapes the pursuit and use of power by human societies. This course addresses the following questions: How does the biophysical environment shape power relations among human societies? Is geopolitical analysis useful for understanding the role of energy and the environment in the international system? Why or why not? How does the distribution of energy and environmental resources shape power relations? As new great powers emerge, are we entering an age of increased scarcity of resources (water, oil, food) and increased conflict? Will global warming cause geopolitical change? BASIC CONCEPTS The three basic building blocks of geopolitics are place, borders, and distance. Human societies are fundamentally shaped by their biophysical location. Relationships between societies are fundamentally shaped by characteristics of their borders and their distance from one another. Two other factors—technology and our mental maps of the world— shape the meaning of the core building blocks of geopolitics. Special Places (Spatial Differentiation) For centuries historians and philosophers have argued that place fundamentally shapes human societies. Open plains foster vulnerable and hostile societies and vast empires. Areas fragmented by topography and ecology (mountain ranges, forests, etc.) foster a multitude of diverse political units. Temperate zones facilitate the development of complex societies. A long coastline with many good ports facilitates the emergence of a commercial society. This type of reasoning is dismissed by some as deterministic, but there is no denying that the particular type of place a society emerges has a foundational impact on is political, economic, and cultural development over the long run. The most important role that place plays in this course is the unequal distribution of energy and environmental resources and the need to transport these resources around the globe. We

If constructed, the Nabucco Gas Pipeline would provide Europe with up to 31 billion cubic meters of gas a year from non-Russian sources. While a variety of problems hinder construction of the pipeline, Russia’s evolving relationship with Ukraine may promote change in the current stagnant situation. However, a growing role for the European Union in the South Caucasus may provoke new tensions in its relations with Russia.

Assesses integration between global energy and global climate governance. Analyzes organizational change in the IEA and its impact on governance integration. Discusses recent activities and advocacy by the IEA in relation to climate change. a b s t r a c t Despite the long-recognized interlinkages between global energy consumption and climate change, there has historically been only limited policy interaction, let alone integration, between the two fields. This compartmentalization is mirrored in scholarship, where much research has focused on the fragmentation of, respectively, global energy and global climate governance, but only little has been said about how these fields might be integrated. Our analysis of the International Energy Agency's (IEA) changing activities in recent years shows that governance integration – both within global energy governance and between global energy and climate governance – is now happening. The IEA has broadened its portfolio to embrace the full spectrum of energy issues, including renewable energy and climate change; it has built and is expanding key partnerships with both the UN climate convention and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA); and it has become an authoritative advocate for the interrelated goals of a low-carbon transition and climate change mitigation. We show that these developments are not the result of a top-down plan, but have rather emerged through the Agency's various efforts to pursue its energy-centric mandate in a fast-changing global policy environment.

Kuzey kutbu veya arktik bölge de keşfedilmemiş petrol rezervleri bulunması Amerika, Kanada, Rusya, Finlandiya, İsveç, Norveç, İzlanda ve Danimarka’nın bölgeye yoğun ilgisini çekmiştir. Amerika, Rusya ve İzlanda’da yatırımlarını arttırmaya başlamış Çin ile AB üyeleri arasında aslında geçen bölgede nüfuzu arttırma çabaları, buzulların tamamen erimesiyle daha da yoğun bir rekabete neden olacaktır.  Yeni ve daha kısa bir deniz ticaret yolu, Çin için maliyet ve zaman açısından büyük bir fayda sağlamaktadır. İklim değişikliğinin yarattığı bu sonuç, hem enerji hem ticaret açısından fayda sağlarken, uluslararası ekonomik düzende bu bölgede nüfuza sahip ülkelerin konumlarını da etkileyecektir.
Enerji güvenliği konusunda olumlu bir adım olmasına rağmen, çevresel güvenlik ve yeni çatışma alanı olması açısından da riskleri taşımaktadır. Politik istikrarsızlık alanı olabilme potansiyeli özellikle Rusya’nın Ukrayna’da izlediği strateji açısından öne sürülebilir.  Çevresel açıdan, belli bölgeler çölleşme ve kuraklık tehlikesiyle karşı karşıya kalabilirken, kutuplara yakın bölgeler verimli kuşaklar haline dönüşebileceği öngörülmektedir. Ekonomik düzen açısından kuzey*-güney ikileminde, kazanan kuzey olacaktır.
Bu makalede Kuzey Kutup bölgesinin sahip olduğu stratejik enerji kaynakları ile bölgenin, uluslararası güvenliğin ekonomik, çevresel ve askeri çatışma riskleri açısından bir analizi yapılacaktır.

Oil politics is a major force in global and domestic politics, especially in developing countries. Oil income makes oil-producing “petrostates” vulnerable to the resource curse, the symptoms of which include pervasive corruption, wasted public spending, volatile economic growth, and more frequent civil wars and domestic conflict. Yet while common tendencies are observable among the group of petrostates, there are also important and systematic differences among them. States that are petro-revolutionary – having both oil income and a revolutionary leader – tend to instigate conflicts at a rate three and a half times that of a comparable “typical” state (one without oil or a revolutionary leader). Indeed, the tendency of petrostates to get into international conflicts cannot be explained without disaggregating the group. This research thus emphasizes the point that oil does not have a single, monolithic effect, but rather it interacts with domestic politics in a complex way.

This article aims to explicate Sino-Indian strategic rivalry for regional influence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). For this purpose, it focuses on actors’ actions, which can be interpreted as acts of strategic competition. First of all, it examines Chinese attempts to increase its strategic and economic influence in the region through establishing strong economic and military ties with regional countries including Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan and some connectivity projects like CPEC and BCIM-EC as a part of the Belt and Road Intiative (BRI). Secondly, it investigates Indian counter initiatives as a part of the ‘Act East Policy’ and ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’, for strenghtening its political, economic and military ties with the USA and its neighbouring countries such as Iran, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and some connectivity infrastructure projects like the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project and the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway. The article argues that although it seems to be a spatial rivalry for gaining and maintaining a total control over the same territory, it is indeed more about a positional rivalry for regional influence, while China seeks to improve its relative position in the IOR, India tries to maintain its relatively advantageous and pre-eminent position in the region.

Since 2008, Kuwait has been experiencing natural gas shortages with serious
implications for the development of its economy. The exploration and then the
production of both non-associated (from new gas fields) and associated (from complex crude oil fields) natural gas require the assistance of international oil companies (I.O.C.s) that possess the necessary expertise. Given Kuwait's contradictory political debate about awarding I.O.C.s with more interesting contracts, up to now I.O.C.s have been granted only technical service agreements (T.S.A.s), now upgraded to enhanced technical service agreements (E.T.S.A.s), which the companies signed in order not to be completely cut off from Kuwait's oil and gas market. In the first chapter, this paper analyzes Kuwait's oil and gas contractual framework from the concessions of the 1930s to today's E.T.S.A.s. The second chapter is an analysis of Kuwait's natural gas industry, which is now not sufficient any longer to satisfy the country's gas needs. Considering the long-term timeframe for developing domestic non-associated gas fields, importing expensive L.N.G.—which was initially regarded as a temporary solution—will probably be structured on a more permanent basis.

This book presents three foresight scenarios for the development of the Caspian Sea region until 2025. The scenarios are titled "Caspia Inc.", "National Giants" and "Trade and Transit". The focus is on Central Asia as an energy-producing and -exporting region, Chinese Silk Road initiatives, the impact of climate change, the future of mining and resource extraction and the differences between the countries in the region.

Sabancı Üniversitesi İstanbul Uluslararası Enerji ve İklim Merkezi-Istanbul International Centre for Energy and Climate (IICEC) tarafından 2010 senesinde kuruluşundan bu yana her yıl düzenlenen, ulusal ve uluslararası karar mercileri için interaktif bir şekilde görüş alışverişinde bulunmalarına imkan tanıyan IICEC 8th International Energy and Climate Forum IICEC Uluslararası Enerji ve İklim Forumu'nun 8'incisi bu yıl "Global Enerji Yatırımları? Sırada ne var?"-Global Energy Investments: What's Next? temasıyla 2017 yılı Ekim ayında Beşiktaş Conrad Bosphorus Hotel'de gerçekleşen etkinliğin izlenimlerini ve vizyonunu daha önce Enerji Gazetesi ve UPA okurlarıyla paylaşmıştım bu kez (IICEC in bir başka etkinliğiyle yine beraberiz https://www.enerjigazetesi.ist/en/dunyada-ve-avrupada-son-donem-yenilenebilir-enerji-adimlari-ve-turkiye/

The book is essentially a Compendium of key geopolitical, strategic and maritime terms and concepts, meant for national policy-makers, strategic analysts, the academia and young professionals of seagoing services. All terms and concepts are sequenced in alphabetical order, and listed in the ‘Contents’ section. The explanation of a term (or concept) often draws comparisons with other related term(s), which are italicized and explained in their respective alphabetical sequence. At times, the signification of two terms is so similar—through distinct—that these are often (erroneously) considered synonymous. The Compendium also explains the varying nuances of such terms.

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 decarbonization scenario.

Some of these are forecasting while others are backcasting scenarios. While all the forecasting scenarios envisage growth in renewable energy, none anticipate a revolution in which renewable energy use surpasses consumption of any of the fossil fuels in the next several decades. In contrast, the backcasting scenarios posit a future in which the world employs a radically different energy mix where consumption of renewables eventually surpasses that of fossil fuels. In all three backasting scenarios covered here, the share of renewables of total primary energy reaches 30-45% in 2035 or 2040 and 50-70% in 2050.

The paper then discusses seven mechanisms through which renewables could shape geopolitics.

Critical materials supply chains. As the transition to renewable energy accelerates, cartels could develop around materials critical to renewable energy technologies. Even if these cartels are unable to achieve the kind of impact that OPEC did in the 1970s oil market, they might be able to exert influence over consumers of these materials. Rare earth elements are widely used in clean energy technologies, including solar panels and wind turbines. Although rare earths elements are found in many countries around the world, they are usually found in dilute concentrations and are often difficult to extract. Today almost all mining, production and processing of rare earth elements takes place in China. Lithium, cobalt and indium are also widely used in clean energy technologies and might in some circumstances present opportunities for cartelization.

Technology and finance. In a world in which renewables are the dominant source of energy, capital for investment and technology may increasingly become sources of international cooperation or rivalry. First, increased tensions between developing and developed countries could develop over the transfer of technology. Second, conflict over renewable energy infrastructure could develop, especially if new asymmetric dependencies arise between major producers and consumers of renewable energy. Finally, it is not clear whether the expansion of renewable energy will involve a shift to more decentralized and distributed energy generation (similar to farming) or to larger companies with the financial and scientific clout to keep pace in an intense global race to continuously improve technology and cost-cutting (similar to mobile telephone manufacturing).

New resource curse. The prevalence of the resource curse could be affected by a rise of renewable energy in at least three ways. First, as oil and gas lose their dominance in the energy mix, petro-states will lose access to the high rents associated with the resource curse. Second, there is the question of whether countries that produce large amounts of renewable energy are likely to become subject to the resource curse, just as major oil and gas producers have been. However, it is also possible that countries producing renewable energy for export may actually end up with more diversified economies than they would otherwise, as the requirements for developing renewable energy resources are quite different from the petroleum sector. Third, there is potential for a new resource curse in countries rich in rare earth elements.

Electric grids. Renewable energy technologies may lead to greater electric interconnections between nations, more widespread distributed energy generation or both. The potential geopolitical implications are complex. On the one hand, greater cross-border trade in electricity could create geopolitical vulnerabilities for electricity importers. On the other hand, greater electric interconnection could increase interdependence among nations, reducing risks of conflict. Renewable energy technologies will affect the vulnerability of electric grids to cyber attacks, potentially creating new vulnerabilities while at the same enhancing resilience with more widespread microgrids and distributed energy technologies.

Reduced oil and gas demand. To the extent that renewable energy reduces demand for oil and gas, there could be significant geopolitical consequences. For oil and gas producers, the decline in revenue generated from fossil fuel energy exports can provide an impetus for political reform and economic diversification. However, a decline in petroleum revenue could also lead to political instability, especially in the short to medium term. Consumer countries would improve their trade balances and their room to maneuver in the international system. The development of renewable energy is already a game changer for Chile, Jordan, Morocco, and several island states in terms of energy security.

Avoided climate change. Reduced greenhouse gas emissions as a result of expanded use of renewable energy should logically reduce the risk of conflict and instability that climate change would otherwise generate. One region where large-scale deployment of renewable energy may have significant geopolitical consequences is Africa.

Sustainable energy access. Access to modern forms of energy is one of the preconditions for achieving sustainable development. The geopolitical impacts of access to energy are important, as such access can contribute to lasting solutions to instability and conflict. It is possible that renewables not only have an impact on geopolitics but that geopolitics, particularly in risky and institutionally unstable environments, can also influence investments in renewable energy by increasing the cost of capital.

These categories do not offer a comprehensive assessment of the ways in which renewables affect geopolitics. The purpose of this paper is to provide food for thought for a broader discussion on the ways in which greater renewable energy and geopolitics intersect. Accordingly, the final section (Section III) suggests areas and directions for future research.

This article examines the ways in which Azerbaijan’s energy abundance and the energy diplomacy the latter made possible—combined with inherent weaknesses attending the state’s young post-colonial polity—conditioned the limits of the desirable by which the country’s post-independence elite was guided and, as such, limited the range of directions—cognitive and spatial—in which Azerbaijan’s foreign policy evolved during the first decade following independence.  The study then examines how energy-induced growth in state capacity on the one hand, and the perceived failure of the state’s previous practices to help resolve outstanding security problems on the other, coupled with the effects of a number of endogenous and exogenous shocks (particularly, the colour revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine; Kosovo’s recognition by the West; the Russia-Georgia 2008 war; global economic crisis; and Turkey’s short-lived attempt at rapprochement with Armenia) and the perceptual shifts those shockwaves worked to engender, served to broaden the spatial and conceptual boundaries within which Azerbaijan’s foreign policy practices were conceived and effected, including by virtue of the energy resources the country has got in possession.  The paper concludes by tracing the particular ways in which the broadening and deepening of the country’s foreign policy practices have occurred.

By adopting a neorealist approach to alliance formation this paper examines the trilateral partnership of Israel, Cyprus and Greece. It argues that since its inception in 2011 it has developed into a (‘comfortable’) quasi-alliance – a less formal and more flexible form of alliance than the traditional ones – driven by profit and threat-related individual and collective motivations. The primary motivations behind the formation of the quasi-alliance have been the common perceptions of Turkey as a security threat and energy-related interests. Moreover, it is suggested that the ‘comfortable’ and quasi nature of the alliance could allow the three states to manoeuvre politically so as not to exclude future and parallel relations with Turkey. This means that the transformation of the quasi-alliance into a more formal alliance is a rather unlikely scenario and that it could fade out should Turkish‒Israeli relations improve.

The article will focus on the energy regional security complex of South-East Europe, exploring the potential of the pipelines projects to serve both as sources of fuelling conflicts and building stability in the region. The impact of the great powers and of the regional powers penetrating the complex, as well as pipelines diplomacy will be analysed in determining what is the causal relationship between access to natural resources and conflicts in the region, exploring both risks and threats to energy security. The key issue remains the energy security interdependence, both among the actors within the complex, as well as between them and the neighbouring subsystems and the great and regional powers.

Energy use is central to almost every aspect of life and development, and to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But energy resource endowments and availability are not evenly distributed across the world, creating or exacerbating inequalities and poverty. Energy is also the greatest contributor to anthropogenic climate change and its consequences. SDG 7 sets out to ensure affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. How the goals of SDG 7 will be advanced, by whom, where, when, and to what level of success, are in part influenced by the structure, actors, rules, content and processes that collectively make up the field of Global Energy Governance (GEG) and its nascent sub-field Global Sustainable Energy Governance (GSEG). This article provides an introduction and general orientation to the emerging and expanding field of GEG and in particular GSEG so as to: (i) understand the history and conceptual basis of GEG, including in the context of the global energy transition and SDG 7; (ii) appreciate underlying imperatives and intersecting issues within the frame of GSEG; and (iii) identify and describe the categories and functions of selected global and regional state and non-state actors and frameworks within the GSEG matrix that are involved in shaping, directing and implementing the energy transition and SDG 7.

The contemporary international security environment is characterized by the prevalence of military and non-military threats such as terrorism, 
roliferation of weapons of mass destruction, environmental disruptions, energy security threats, and human insecurity. Conflicts between state and non-state actors have become more frequent and a seemingly  inevitable phenomena in international affairs, as interstate conflicts have declined and de-escalated in number. While competition among global powers remains a part of the international system, sovereign states tend to concentrate more on the non-military aspects of power and security maximization. Therefore, modern warfare is more associated with a wide use of unconventional tactics, strategies and irregular attacks. In the modern era, conventional methods of warfare are generally  complemented with techniques of insurgency, terrorism, sabotage, subversion and information warfare ...

The present paper seeks to examine the security aspect of a post-settlement Federal Cyprus. Among other things, the paper assesses the current external security environment of Cyprus in order to identify and prioritize certain security challenges, and analyses four security areas that may pose threats or challenges to the external relations or domestic stability of post-settlement Cyprus. It is argued that a secure and politically stable Federal Cyprus will first and foremost need a reliable political system with functioning decision-making mechanisms in order to pursue a coherent and effective foreign and security policy without crisis-producing deadlocks; the very political system will be its best " guarantor ". Lastly, targeted actions, a number of which are proposed, should be undertaken as soon as possible for the development of a federal security culture – i.e. convergence of communal interests and preferences – which will allow for joint strategic formulation and the development of a common sense of direction in the various policy areas of the federal state.

Cyberspace is erroneously characterized as a domain that transcends physical space and thereby is immune to state sovereignty and resistant to international regulation. The purpose of this paper is to signify that cyberspace, in common with the other four domains (land, sea, air and outer space) and despite its unique characteristics, is just a reflection of the current international system, and thereby is largely affected by the rules that characterize it. The issue of state sovereignty in cyberspace is critical to any discussion about future regulation of cyberspace. Although cyberspace is borderless and is characterized by anonymity and ubiquity, recent state practices provide sufficient evidence that cyberspace, or at least some components of it, are not immune from sovereignty. The increasing use of Internet filtering techniques by both authoritarian regimes and democracies is just the latest example of attempting to control information flows. Cyberspace is non‐territorial, but in sharp contrast to the land, sea, air and outer space, cyberspace is not a part of nature, it is human‐made and therefore can be unmade and regulated. States have continuously emphasized their right to exercise control over the cyber‐infrastructure located in their respective territory, to exercise their jurisdiction over cyberactivities on their territory, and to protect their cyber‐infrastructure against any trans‐border interference by other states or by individuals. As a result, states are filtering and monitoring cyber‐bytes. Over the past years, there is a growing number of states that is publishing national cyber‐policies and establishing cyber‐centers that aim to protect the national cyber‐infrastructure and control their citizens’ access to information. The issue of state sovereignty in cyberspace raises critical questions about the need to regulate the cyber domain and gradually reach an international cyber‐order.

The Caspian Project is a weekly digital magazine organized by the online analytical resource, Modern Diplomacy. Dr. Matthew Crosston is the Senior Editor of the project, which aims to acquaint people with this critically undervalued region of the world. The analyses go far beyond the standard issue of energy and encapsulates economics, politics, culture, religion, global affairs, conflict and peace.

The 10th edition of The Caspian Project is now out and it has several unique distinctions: it is the first edition with an editorial introduction and takes a more holistic and adversarial approach to investigating Iran's entrance into the global community given the recent nuclear accord. It is a great example of the diversity and discord that exists in global affairs, testifying to how there is no one single simple answer to such complex interactions within the international system.

China Pakistan Economic Corridor has been touted by many as a gateway to economic prosperity and stability in Pakistan. It accompanies great potential in terms of solving the ongoing energy crisis and eventually leading Pakistan towards energy security. In this respect, a meta-analytic review has been conducted to identify the underlying concerns that can hinder the successful achievement of energy security though China Pakistan Economic Corridor energy projects. This meta-analysis has revealed strong evidence supporting achievement of Pakistan's energy security dream (89%) along with five main distressing factors which are economic burden (22.22%), security threat (38.89%), project completion delays (22.22%), lack of project feasibility studies (22.22%) and provincial conflict (50%). Additionally, statistically significant strong negative correlation between energy security and economic burden is unearthed with Spearman's rho-value of − 0.759. Moreover, strong negative correlation exists between energy security and project completion delays with rho-value of − 0.500 and P-value of 0.035. Also, project feasibility and project completion delays is found to have a very strong positive correlation as well with rho-value of 0.709 and P-value of 0.001. These findings will assist policy makers and strategists in formulating limitation frameworks for the restriction of undesirable influences on energy security from these identified factors.

This article deals with the debate on the challenges generated by the Energy Transition. " Energy Transitions " are based on the notion that an energy resource, or a group of energy resources, dominates the market for a period or era, until it is challenged and eventually replaced by other(s) resource(s) (Melosi 2010). Since the 1970s, when the world watched two major oil crises, states and corporations began discussing alternatives that could replace oil as the basis of the global energy mix. In recent years, this process has intensified. The use of clean energy sources (hydro, nuclear, wind, solar, tidal, geothermal, biofu-els) emerge as possible replacements for fossil fuels. However, this is not an easy transition. There are many questions about the ability of these new sources to meet world energy demand, which is growing. In addition, proposals that include increased use of new forms of fossil fuels (shale gas, tar sands, ultra-heavy oil) keep the world dependent on finite fuels and generate huge impacts on the environment. In this sense, the WEC seeks to discuss possible solutions to this energy challenge. Ie, how to perform the transition to a post-oil era without affecting energy supply, maintaining equitable distribution of electricity and without destroying the environment.

This Technical Memorandum discusses the nature and extent of the terrorist threat against the petroleum industry. It specifically focuses on al Qaeda’s efforts and stated intent to strike at energy infrastructure in the Middle East and in other parts of the world, including Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela. Additionally, it highlights economic costs of petro-terrorism and vulnerabilities to oil infrastructure, and suggests possible options for governments and industry to reduce the risks posed by terrorists.