Some Geopolitical Issues of the Energy Transition

This article is a summary in English of the Policy Paper published in January 2019 under the title “Vers une géopolitique de l’énergie plus complexe ? Une analyse prospective tridimensionnelle de la transition énergétique”, Policy Research Working Paper, Projet GENERATE, IRIS – IFP Énergies nouvelles – ANR, January 2019.

Why should geopolitics focus on energy transition issues? In many parts of the world, the decarbonisation of the energy and electricity mix has become a priority in order to meet international climate objectives and address local pollution issues. Investments made in renewable energies (REs) represented around $332 billion in 2018 and those needed to meet the targets set in Paris in 2015 at the 21^st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) could reshape the concept of energy security. The expression “Geopolitics of Renewable Energies” is not widely used at present, and the geopolitical implications of new energy policies and investments in REs are not very well explored…